


You Met The Best One First

by LadyWinterlight



Series: A World of Soulmates [4]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Foursome - F/M/M/M, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Slow Build, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-06-03
Packaged: 2018-06-06 19:17:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 53,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6766531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyWinterlight/pseuds/LadyWinterlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Guys from the past need a lot of help in the modern world. Fate gave it to them, in the form of their soulmates. 4-way relationship; not a smut fic (though it's possible there will eventually be some as a side-scene).</p><p>This is a continuation of my initial soulmates one-shot. I don't know how long it will get or how much actual plot we will have. Mostly relationship feels and the difficulties of poly relationship building.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Original Short

**Author's Note:**

> The bunny for this was dropped in my lap by LunaOrlha, aided and abetted later by NerdyKat. 
> 
> Many thanks to NerdyKat for beta assistance.
> 
>  
> 
> **Trigger Warnings: Mentions of past rape and abuse of a minor. Nothing explicit, because just no. Ew. But we all know that some of our heroes have unhappy pasts. If you choose not to read, I will not be offended.**

__

_Lovely image made for this short by LunaOrlha!_

* * *

 

When Steve woke up in SHIELD custody, the world was definitely a confusing place. 70 years… it was a lot to take in.

He wasn’t sure if it was more or less of a shock to discover that he had new soulmarks.

For some reason, Bucky’s mark was still as dark as ever. It hadn’t faded since his death, which was very peculiar. Steve didn’t know what it meant. But he had also acquired two new ones. The first was difficult to decipher, the writing appearing to be a hurried scribble. The second was very clear, the handwriting loopy and feminine-seeming.

He silently thanked God that fate had seen fit to give him new soulmates to help him adjust to this new time. Now hopefully it wouldn’t take long to find them.

\-----

“You look pretty good, for a Capsicle,” a voice spoke from behind Steve one afternoon. He turned to look at the man in the doorway with an expression of hope; those were the words he managed to puzzle out on his arm. The stranger’s grin slowly faded as they watched each other for a moment.

Finally, Steve found his voice. “I feel alright, except for being confused every few minutes.”

The man froze for a moment, eyes widening. Then he smiled. “Well, the world is an amazing and complex place. I’m Tony. Tony Stark.”

“Stark? Related to Howard?” Really, his new soulmate was someone related to his one-time friend?

Tony’s expression clouded but he nodded. “Yeah. He was my dad. We didn’t get along, though.”

Steve nodded. “I’m sorry. I just thought…”

Shaking himself, Tony shrugged. “He was obsessed with finding you. Even when he eventually back-burnered the project, he never forgot about you.”

“He was a good friend,” Steve answered quietly. “Hopefully you and I will be even better.”

“Damn straight. C’mon. Let’s bust you outta here for a while. Show you that modern isn’t so bad.” Tony’s expression lightened and Steve was glad he’d found the right words to ease their interaction. He didn’t want their bond to be laced with grief or resentment.

\-----

Steve was barely awake after his dip in the Potomac when Tony burst into the hospital room, swearing loudly. Sam jumped to his feet, but Tony just pushed him aside to get to Steve’s bedside.

“Damn you and your blasted hero complex!” Tony swore, though he picked up Steve’s hand so gently that Sam wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it. “I could’ve lost you. You _know_ I’m always here if you need help. Especially ‘saving the world’-type help!”

“I know,” Steve answered, his voice hoarse. “Sorry. Just… all happened so fast.” He glanced up and saw Sam’s concerned face. “Tony, meet Sam Wilson. Sam, this is Tony… one of my soulmates.”

Sam’s confusion cleared and he stepped around the bed to the other side. “Mr. Stark,” he greeted, holding out his hand. “Sam Wilson, codename Falcon. Former military, and glad to help Cap when he asked. Actually, I insisted.”

“Call me Tony. Any friend of Cap’s…” Tony shook hands briefly, then returned his attention to Steve. “As for you… why, why didn’t you call?”

“I was confused,” Steve answered gently. “Tony… I saw Bucky. But he didn’t know me.”

Shock crossed Tony’s expression and the room was silent for a long moment. “Crap. Alright, I’ll start JARVIS working on a locator program. We’ll find him, Steve. I promise.”

\-----

Skye sat in the medical wing after returning from HYDRA’s antarctic base. Lincoln was still in critical condition, Mike Peterson wasn’t in great shape, and the third person they’d rescued was still unconscious.

Bucky Barnes. The Winter Soldier. Coulson had word from Fury that Tony Stark and Steve Rogers were looking for him. But they’d decided it would be better to keep his presence quiet until he was back on his feet and let him decide if he wanted to be found.

So Skye sat between her friend and the Soldier. Just to be on the safe side. And also, her presence made the medical staff feel better about working around such a famous assassin. Though whether or not it would be enough for her to stop him, should he wake intent on damage… well, that remained to be seen.

A few hours later, Skye was startled when Barnes snapped awake suddenly. He was reaching for the IV tube in his flesh arm when she intercepted him. “Stop, please. It’s okay, you’re safe here. We’re not going to hurt you, I promise.”

Barnes froze, staring at her with his big blue eyes. Eyes full of hope under the fear. “You might be the only one who could tell me that and be believed,” he whispered. “Show me. Please.”

She blinked at him as the words on one of her soulmarks registered, then smiled softly. She pulled up her sleeve to reveal her mark and saw him relax fully. “I’m glad. The drip is just saline; you were badly dehydrated. You’re not on the HYDRA base anymore; we brought you out with us when we went in to rescue our friends.”

Barnes nodded, his expression softening as he caught her hand gently in his. “Can you… do you know someone… who could help me?”

“Possibly,” she said cautiously. “What kind of help do you need?”

“HYDRA left… triggers. Programming. In my mind. I don’t… don’t want to be their Asset anymore. No more assassinations. No more innocent deaths.”

She nodded her understanding. “I think we can help with that. I won’t let you hurt anyone if I can help it.”

He looked relieved as he squeezed her hand gently in thanks. “Then I guess… I just have one more question.”

“What’s that?”

“What’s your name, doll?”

She smiled softly. “It’s Skye.”

“A name as beautiful as you are.” He smiled when she blushed.

“What would you like me to call you?” she asked instead.

“I’m… not quite sure I feel like myself yet. For now, I guess… call me James.”

“I can do that.” She brushed the fingertips of her free hand over his face. “I should probably call a doctor. My friend Jemma is one of them; would it be alright if I asked her to look over you?”

He hesitated, but then nodded. “Yeah, but will you stay?”

“Of course.” She reached over and pressed the button for the intercom. Fortunately, Jemma answered it. “Jemma, our guest is awake. He’s alright if you come to check on him, but just you. Is that alright?”

Jemma hesitated a moment, but then asked, “Will you be there?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s fine. I’m on my way.”

“Something special about you, doll, that she’s more comfortable if you’re here?”

Skye smiled. “You could say that, yeah. I’m not quite what I seem.”

“That’s good. Keeps you safer.”

She was a little surprised at his calm acceptance but dismissed it. They could talk about it later.

\-----

Bucky walked with his soulmate as she said goodbye to her father. The previous weeks had seen a lot of progress in his mental stability, so he was allowed to move freely around the base. Most often, he stayed with Skye if he could. Before walking away, Cal gave him a small, strained smile and said, “Take good care of my little girl.”

“I promise,” Bucky answered in a low voice. He put his arm around Skye as they watched Cal leave the base; she managed to hold onto her composure until the door clanged shut. Then she turned to him, breath catching in a sob. “Shh, little angel,” he soothed her, knowing that it was something her parents had called her when she was small. “It’ll be alright.”

When she didn’t answer, he scooped her up and carried her to her room. He sat with her on his lap, cradling her shaking body against his. “I know I helped make this decision,” she cried. “I want him to have a new life, to be happy and healthy again. But… he’ll never remember me. And that hurts so much…”

“I know, doll. I know. But I’ll always be here for you. You don’t have to do this alone.” He rocked her gently.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she whispered when she’d calmed down.

“God willing, you’ll never have to find out,” he soothed. “I’m not goin’ anywhere without you, Skye.”

“Promise?” Her voice sounded pitiful, even to herself. But her own mother had tried to kill her; stability wasn’t ever going to be something she could believe in easily.

“I promise,” he answered solemnly, knowing how much she needed to hear it. He held her close and kissed her softly.

“What if… what if our other soulmates don’t want me?”

“Never happen,” he swore to her. “Stevie’s gonna love you.”

She shrugged, knowing she’d have to take his word for it. “And the fourth? They could be together by now, too.”

“I’m sure he’ll love you, too, Skye. You’re strong and capable, but you still have a kind heart and try to see the best in everyone. You’re also the most beautiful girl I ever saw, an’ I mean that. They’ll think so too.”

She sighed softly. “You make it sound so simple, James. But it can’t be. Nothing ever is.”

He held her closer for a moment. “Maybe it’ll be me they don’t like. I’m not the same man I was, last time I saw Steve. I still don’t know how to be. Maybe he can’t get past that. Maybe our fourth will be someone I hurt in the past, and they won’t be able to get over that.”

“I’ll stay with you. No matter what. Even if a full bond never works,” she whispered.

“And I’ll stay with you. Always. I love you, Skye.”

She smiled; he’d never said those four words to her, but she knew he meant it. The bond was drawing them together, but more… they were each there for the other through the turmoil of the past few weeks. They’d gotten close very fast. Part of her hoped that, wherever he was, Steve had someone to support him similarly.

“I love you too, James. And I will keep loving you, even when you remember more about being Bucky.”

\-----

“Doctor Garner says you’re ready. Both of you,” Coulson told Skye and Barnes. The smile he gave them was one of pride and pleasure in their accomplishments over the past few months. Together and separately. They’d grown stronger and more stable, in control of themselves and their abilities.

“Thank you, sir,” Bucky answered. “It hasn’t been easy.”

“The things worth achieving never are,” Coulson told him with a smile. “So I have something for you, by way of celebration.”

Skye blinked, then smiled. “You do? Aww, DC…” She took the small, white card that Coulson handed over and looked at it. “A hotel reservation?”

“In New York,” Bucky said softly and Coulson nodded. “The number on the back goes directly to Maria Hill. She will help with the arrangements to meet up with Captain Rogers, if that’s what you want.” He smiled gently at Skye. “You deserve to be happy. Both of you. Even if that means you choose a different team.”

“But the Inhumans…”

“Will still be there if you decide that’s what you want. We’ll set you up a base in New York if we have to.” He sighed. “I don’t want to lose you, Skye. But your happiness is important, too, and soulbonds are hard to ignore. So we’ll make the best of it, whatever you decide.”

“I… don’t know what to say, DC.”

“Thank you, Director,” Bucky said when Skye remained quiet. “We both appreciate the opportunity. We won’t just disappear, I promise. We’ll keep in touch.”

Skye nodded. When Coulson got up to see them out of the office, she threw herself into his arms. Coulson caught her awkwardly, still adapting to the loss of his hand. But he held her close for a long moment.

“Good luck, the both of you. The reservation starts tomorrow; May will drop you off at La Guardia in the morning.”

“Thanks, DC,” Skye reiterated. “I’ll text you when we’re settled in.” He nodded and shooed them out of his office to go pack.

\-----

Thanks to Maria Hill, getting in to see Steve was easy. She met them in the lobby of the tower, waved at Security and led them to an elevator that took them directly up to the meeting level.

“He should be here in a minute,” Maria said with a smile. “Cap’s never late.”

“Thanks,” Skye said with a small smile. “Here goes everything.”

“It’ll be fine. You found his best friend,” Maria replied. Skye glanced at Bucky and they realized that Coulson hadn’t told her. Probably for the best, though.

“I suppose I did. Thanks again for your help, Maria.”

“You’re very welcome.” She left them alone in the room. Bucky drifted over to the window, looking out. Skye joined him and smiled when he wrapped his arm around her. He’d finally stopped worrying about holding her with his prosthetic arm and she was glad he could finally relax. Fitz and Simmons had been working for weeks on an alternative, anyway. Something better, more fully functional.

They turned together when they heard the door open; Steve paused just inside the doorway, his expression one of shock. “Bucky,” he whispered. He stepped closer, one arm outstretched.

Skye stepped back, leaning against the wall as she stood aside to let Bucky greet the friend and soulmate he hadn’t seen in seventy years. Compared to that… she could wait a few more minutes.

“Hey, punk.” Bucky stepped closer to Steve, then stalled. “I’m… sorry…” But Steve didn’t let him say anything further; he took the last few steps and pulled Bucky into his arms. They clung to one another silently for several minutes, and when they stepped back both seemed much more relaxed. Bucky pulled Steve in for a kiss and they both smiled when they parted.

“Nothin’ to be sorry for, Buck. We’ve pretty much pieced out what happened.”

Bucky nodded. “So, we’re okay?”

“Yeah. We’re okay.”

“Good. Then there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” Bucky towed Steve to where Skye waited patiently with a small smile on her face and a soft look in her eyes. “This is Skye. Skye, this is Steve.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Skye said, speaking first. “The Howling Commandos were kind of my heros as a kid.”

The expression on Steve’s face was priceless, but the shock only lasted a moment. “Well, you met the best one first. I hope the rest of us don’t suffer by comparison.” It was the response she expected and she just smiled as she held out her hand. When Steve took it, Bucky stepped behind her and hip-checked her into Steve.

“Bucky!” Steve yelped, his tone admonishing even as he caught Skye. She just started to laugh; Bucky had a mischievous streak almost as big as hers. And really, being in Steve’s arms wasn’t something she was likely to complain about. She just hugged him tightly and then let him set her back on her feet.

“Relax, Stevie,” Bucky responded, chuckling. “She ain’t gonna mind. She’s cuddly, our Skye is.”

With a soft smile, Steve looked down at her. “Well, if the lady doesn’t object then I surely won’t.” He held her for a moment more, then stepped away. “Thank you for finding Bucky, and for bringing him back here.”

“Like I was gonna leave him as he was,” Skye answered with a roll of her eyes. “Even if he hadn’t been my soulmate, helping him was the right thing to do. And now with you, that’s three out of four for me.”

Steve’s eyes went wide as he realized that, for those few brief moments of relief and shock, he’d forgotten about Tony. “FRIDAY, please call Tony down here.”

“Yes, Captain,” a softly accented voice lilted in response.

Skye looked up at Steve, perplexed for a moment. Then her eyes went huge. “Wait… you mean… Tony Stark…?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah. He’s our fourth. He was one of the first people I met after SHIELD found me, and he’s been a huge help to me in adjusting to the modern world.”

“Then I guess I owe him thanks, too,” Bucky said quietly.

A few minutes later, a rather disgruntled Tony walked into the meeting room. “I hope this is important, Capsicle; I was kind of busy.” He paused abruptly when he realized that there were more people in the room than just Steve.

Steve just snorted, not the least bit intimidated. “I suppose that depends on whether you consider it important to meet the rest of our soulmates. If not, then by all means go back to what you were doing.”

Tony looked from Barnes to the strange girl standing by Steve and harumphed. “So you found him first, huh?” he asked. “We’ve been looking for months.”

“I wasn’t looking,” Skye said quietly. “For any of you, really. Not everyone finds their soulmate.”

Steve frowned. “Didn’t you want to?”

Skye just shrugged and moved back to the windows, staring out silently.

“She’s had a rough life,” Bucky answered for her, glancing from Steve to Tony. “Cut her some slack, yeah?”

Tony smiled a little and nodded. “I was never sure how I’d end up hearing that from you. Guess I know now.”

Bucky nodded in acknowledgment and crossed over to Skye. “Skye, darlin’, you know he don’t know any better. I’m sure he didn’t mean to upset you.”

She sighed. “I know that. I just… didn’t think it’d be so hard.”

“Why don’t we go upstairs?” Tony suggested after a moment, running a hand through his hair. “We can get some lunch, maybe a couple of drinks. Get to know each other where it’s comfortable.”

Bucky glanced at Skye, and when she nodded he tugged her away from the window. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“What would you like for lunch?” Tony asked as he led them into the elevator. “I can have the kitchen whip up just about anything.”

Skye shrugged. “I’m not fussy. Anything is fine.”

Tony looked back at her with a smile. “Anything is possible. What would you _like_?”

She studied him for a moment, then smiled a little. “A grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup.” Comfort food might be a good thing, with the afternoon facing them.

“Relay to the kitchen, FRIDAY,” Tony said, chuckling. “And add a ham and swiss on rye for me.”

“I’ll have what Skye’s having,” Bucky said when Tony paused to look at him.

“Couple of sandwiches sound good,” Steve agreed.

“Drinks?”

“Coffee?” Skye asked. “Or tea is fine, too.”

“We have plenty of coffee,” Tony replied with a smirk. “Too many of us depend on it.”

When they reached Tony’s public floor, he headed straight for the bar area. A couple of water bottles were tossed in Steve’s direction, which he shared with Bucky. On one end of the bar sat a high end coffee/espresso machine. “How do you take your coffee, sweetheart? Or would you prefer a latte?”

Wide-eyed, Skye studied the array of flavors and choices. “Um… Irish Cream latte, please?” She watched Tony make himself an Irish Coffee - black with whiskey - while the machine produced her latte, to which he added a generous shot of Irish Cream. She hadn’t really meant to go for alcohol (he had just the flavoring too), but what the heck.

She took a sip and smiled slowly. “Perfect. Thank you.”

“Anything for our girl,” he answered quietly. He escorted her towards the couches where Steve and Bucky had settled; lunch had arrived while Tony had made coffee, so as they sat they divided out everyone’s requests. “Most of the rest of us have had pretty public lives; will you tell us about yourself, Skye?”

She’d known this was coming. She toyed with her food, trying to delay the inevitable. Dunking her sandwich in the bowl of soup first, she chewed and swallowed slowly. “Yeah, I will. You’re not gonna like it, though.”

“Why not?” Tony was curious, but listening.

“Because it will show you just how little I belong here,” she answered, gesturing to the luxury all around them. “I grew up an orphan. St. Agnes’ orphanage, in Hell’s Kitchen; and let me tell you, the nuns were ridiculously hard on me. Didn’t want me to turn out to be the kind of girl with _three men_ as soulmates. Add to that the fact that I never stayed in any foster home for more than three or four months, and my childhood was pretty much a nightmare. I found out eventually that I moved so much because of an invisible SHIELD protocol; it was supposed to keep me safe. But…”

“No real home of your own, no stability. I’m sorry, Skye,” Steve said, his tone sympathetic.

She nodded. “I finally ran away from the last foster home when I was 16. My foster-father was a perv; caught him spying on me. He had… ideas... about girls with multiple soulmarks.” Her eyes were on her food, so she didn’t see three outraged looks. Even Bucky hadn’t known this part; she seldom talked about her childhood. He knew more about her time hacking and with SHIELD.

“Long story short, I couldn’t go back to the orphanage. The nuns would never have believed me anyway. So I just took off. Did some odd jobs, an old friend from the orphanage - a few years older than me - helped me get my GED while he was in college. Hid me in his dorm room as often as he dared.” She smiled a little, the fond memories of her only real friend removing the tension of her earlier admission. “It wasn’t so bad. I got good with computers and wound up in the Rising Tide. Wasn’t big on secrets, since my whole life was one massive blank. I had no birth certificate, no ID when I arrived - everything I had at the orphanage was ordered by the nuns. The only thing I could ever find was one single file, redacted by SHIELD. So of course I learned to hack. Finally got myself on SHIELD’s radar. Figured if I couldn’t get the info from the outside, maybe from the inside…” She shrugged.

“So you worked for SHIELD before it fell?” Steve asked.

Skye gave him an odd look. “Yes. And I still do.”

“Come on, Steve. You must’ve realized that some of it survived when Fury brought a freaking helicarrier to Sokovia!” Tony broke in.

“The world still needs SHIELD,” Skye added. “We’ve been working to take down HYDRA, to keep people safe from the kind of things that don’t make it onto the superheroes’ radar. Besides, my team has been the only family I’ve got for a couple of years now. We wouldn’t let something like HYDRA ruin us forever.”

Bucky grinned. “And it landed you neat powers, even if getting them wasn’t happy for you.”

With a chuckle, Skye nodded. “Yeah, I know. It’s been a rough couple of years. But here we are. And it brought us all together. I would never have walked into this tower on my own. Of course, if I hadn’t found James then I would never have known who the handwriting belonged to either.”

Tony set his dishes aside and moved to kneel beside Skye’s chair. He held his hand out, and she slowly placed her hand in his. “You’re an amazing, strong woman, Skye,” he began slowly, measuring his words before he spoke them. “And even if you aren’t used to comfort and luxury, I think you’ve more than earned it anyway. I intend to spoil you as much as you’ll allow, because you’re special and because you’re our soulmate. And because everyone deserves to find something good in life.”

Skye studied his expression, then slowly smiled. “I think I can handle that.”

 


	2. But You Know More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first new chapter of the original short.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, many thanks to NerdyKat as always for beta assistance.

At Tony’s insistence, Skye and Bucky cancelled their hotel reservation. They went back to pick up their things and checked out, telling the staff that something had come up. Though they’d enjoyed their one night in the lovely suite, Tony promised to top whatever the hotel had on offer. Knowing that they needed time with their soulmates to decide what to do going forward, they agreed to the switch.

So the afternoon saw them settling into a guest room on the private floor Steve and Tony shared. They had full access to anything on Tony’s levels and the common floors below - so the gym, the pool, the communal kitchens, the movie theatre, Tony’s bar, the private baths complete with hot tubs, and much more. Far beyond anything either was used to… they were both a little uncomfortable, but at least they were together.

And they weren’t alone. Steve and Tony were just down the hall. Tony swore up and down that while he did have a bedroom specifically designed for four people, he’d never used it. It was pristine, waiting for a time when they were all comfortable enough to want to. Skye hadn’t seen it yet, but she knew it was on the other end of the floor; the smaller bedrooms were on one side of the living space and the big bedroom was on the other. 

“You about done, doll?” Bucky’s voice broke into her thoughts as she finished unpacking the bag of toiletries and putting them on the counter of their en suite bathroom.

“Yeah,” she agreed in a low voice. “It’s not like we brought much. We just packed for a few days.”

“Come on. You dropped a lot on them over lunch. Now let’s give them a chance to react to it properly, yeah?”

She smiled a little. “I suppose so. Alright, I guess I’m as ready as I’m gonna be.”

They emerged from their room and headed for the living area. Steve sat on the couch, watching M.A.S.H. while Tony worked on the computer nearby. Tony looked up as they came into the room. “Not to be too pointed, but why are there no records of you at St. Agnes, Skye?”

She blinked. “Because Skye is the name I chose for myself, after I left there. No, I won’t tell you what they called me. Some bullshit name they made up because I had no ID of any kind when I got dropped there.” She crossed over to stand behind Tony while Bucky settled beside Steve; Steve began explaining the premise of the show, and she caught the comment that he was still in the process of catching up to modern TV and movies.

“Besides,” Skye added as she stopped next to Tony, “even if I gave you my old name, you wouldn’t find anything. I erased it all years ago; one of my first hacks. Why are you looking anyway?”

Tony looked up at her, a serious expression on his face and a hard look in his eyes. “Because nobody should be allowed to abuse a child in their care. Haven’t the orphans suffered enough? And who knows how many other kids that guy has hurt in the years since…”

“Tony…” Steve’s voice had a disapproving note; everyone knew Tony didn’t like secrets, but to pry into her past after only a few hours’ acquaintance...

Skye only smiled. “It’s sweet of you to want to, but you can’t go after them all. A vast majority of the people who foster kids only go through a cursory check. There are far more of them needed than there are people willing to do it. The ones that do are usually in it for the government money, among other things. But they’re not all bad. There were one or two I wished I could stay at, but I never got to.”

“Shouldn’t be that way. Please, give me the name? I’ll make sure he never hurts another kid again.”

With a slow shake of her head, Skye softly said, “No. Even if you get that one, there are dozens more just like him. We need a better system, not revenge.”

Tony tilted his head, clearly confused. “He obviously hurt you, Skye. I’m not asking you to talk about it. You can if you want, but I’m not asking. He shouldn’t get away with it, though.”

She sighed. “I doubt he even remembers me specifically, Tony.” She heard a sound of disbelief from behind her and guessed it was probably from Bucky. But she pressed on. “Besides, there are a lot of safeguards in the system to protect families from accusations like that. Troubled teens make up stories all the time. Some get investigated, most are lies because the kids don’t like the home or don’t like the rules or whatever.”

“So what can I do? You want me to buy St. Agnes? I can do that. Make sure the kids there are taken care of properly.”

“Do you even know how much time and effort, not to mention money, it takes to run an orphanage? A lot of kids who end up there are seriously traumatized by losing their families. I’ve known kids who woke up screaming every night, who wouldn’t talk, who had blocks in their memories and acted much younger than they should’ve been, and those are just the memorable ones.” She sighed. “Tony, I love that you want to help. I really do. And we can talk about options, if you want. Maybe helping them out with funding or something. But you can’t just dive into this without knowing more.”

“But  _ you _ know more.”

“I know what it’s like to be in there, sure. I know how it is to spend nights with three or four kids in a bed because everyone’s afraid to sleep. I know what it’s like to sing myself hoarse, trying to keep nightmares from the little ones. I remember watching the lucky ones get adopted and never being one of them.” She sighed softly, realizing all of a sudden that the tv was off and everyone was listening rather than just catching comments in passing.

“You’re not the only one, Skye,” Steve said quietly. “We know what it’s like to sleep three or four to a bunk, everyone afraid to sleep because of the terrors dreams can bring.” Bucky stiffened and Steve wrapped an arm around him automatically. 

“Punk’s right. We also know what it’s like to live without enough to eat, not knowing if the power will stay on or if there are enough blankets when the heat goes out.”

“I know.” She nodded at Bucky, understanding what they were saying as well as what they weren’t. They’d lived through the Depression era. They could understand. But Tony didn’t, and she couldn’t let him just rush ahead, trying to fix things he didn’t understand. “I don’t know what it’s like to try to run the place. I don’t know how to deal with those children to get them the help they really need. I’m not a psychologist or a therapist, to try to get those kids to where they can be functioning adults. And I’m not willing to interfere without knowing how to help, really help and not just want to. Does that make sense?” Her eyes met Tony’s and stayed there, willing him to understand.

“It does,” Steve answered thoughtfully. “We can do some research. Talk to Sam; he’s a counselor at the VA. He may know someone who knows more.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Skye answered readily. “Military families can pretty easily end up with orphaned or single-parent kids that need help too.”

“Alright, we’ll look into it. I’ll get my lawyers started on looking into the details, and we can talk to Sam and perhaps the VA,” Tony agreed grudgingly, accepting their words as true.

“Good. Now that’s settled, can we maybe make some happy memories instead of dredging up Skye’s unhappy ones?” Bucky suggested.

“What’d you have in mind, Buck?” Steve asked.

“Movie marathon?” Skye suggested. “It’s always entertaining to poke fun at them, and to hear how other people see them.”

Tony chuckled. “I think that can be arranged.” Steve and Bucky both nodded agreement. “Pick a movie, sweetheart.”

\-----

That night, the issue of how to say goodnight and go to separate rooms never came up. All four fell asleep on the couches in front of the tv; Bucky and Steve curled up on one and Skye nestled into Tony’s side on the other.

The next day was pleasantly spent; Skye suggested that they take turns telling stories about themselves, and though Tony initially protested Steve and Bucky backed her up. Though several of Steve’s stories also featured Bucky and vice versa, neither Skye nor Tony complained. It helped them all to know each other better without any one of them feeling put on the spot like Skye had the day before.

Unfortunately, their afternoon was interrupted by a very irritated message from Pepper Potts. “I’m sorry, sir,” FRIDAY said. “I have a message for you from Miss Potts, and she says it’s most urgent.”

“Fine, go ahead.” Tony had locked down the apartment the night before; usually, he had said, Pepper and Maria could access their floors but would only if they needed to. But the lockdown kept everyone out, period.

“Tony Stark, if you’re not ready for the gala on time tonight I will make you start going to these things alone!” Pepper’s voice came over the speaker. “You’re not answering your phone, checking your emails or allowing anyone up. You have five minutes to respond. Go.”

“Shit,” Tony said, eyes rolling. “FRIDAY, let her up.” He sighed. “I suppose I’d better start getting ready. I’d forgotten about the gala.” He pushed himself up off the couch, grumbling about having to work on weekends.

The elevator dinged before he got very far, though, and Pepper stepped into the apartment. “What IS going on, Tony?” she demanded; then she paused abruptly, realizing there were more people in the room than she’d expected.

“Pep, come meet Skye and Bucky. The other half of our soulmate bond,” Tony said, his tone cheerful if a little forced. “Look, I’m sorry I forgot about the gala. I’ve just had…”

“Other things on your mind,” Pepper finished for him. Then a small smile lightened her expression. “Just this once, I think I can forgive you.” She brushed her fingers over Tony’s cheek. “Go shave. There’s no way for you to not go, but I think we can make it as short an evening as possible within bounds of politeness.”

Tony nodded and headed off towards his room with a sigh.

Bucky crossed over to Pepper and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, ma’am. I’m sorry if we’ve caused a disruption.”

Pepper smirked. “No more than Tony does just by being himself. I’m sorry I came up in a temper.”

“It’s fine,” Skye answered, waving off the need to apologize. “From the stories he’s been telling us, you’ve been wrangling Tony for a very long time and I’m sure he has needed it.”

“Pepper is also a lot of the reason that Tony and I have been able to keep things out of the media,” Steve explained.

“I figured. Rumor has it that they’re dating, in fact,” Skye commented. “Nice little diversion, I suppose, though perhaps not the best if Pepper hasn’t met her own soulmate yet.”

“I have, actually. And he doesn’t mind in general, though it’s not a situation that can stand indefinitely,” Pepper replied.

Skye looked at Bucky, who shrugged. “I guess that’ll be one more thing we need to discuss tomorrow,” she said quietly.

“Well, it’s nothing you need to rush over,” Pepper said soothingly. “I promised Tony a long time ago that we could keep things under wraps until the four of you found each other. The last thing any of us needed was some opportunist trying to fake a soul mark. But within a day or two of meeting wasn’t ever something I expected. It’s fine.”

Skye nodded and smiled a little. “We have a lot of things to figure out. We’re still really getting to know each other.”

“And now I have to drag him off to a gala,” Pepper answered sympathetically. “Would you all like to come along? We’ll keep you out of range of the cameras as best we can, though Steve’s hard to manage that with. Still, this particular event won’t be too bad. At least you can observe, see more of the kind of world he has to function in sometimes.”

Bucky shook his head. “I don’t think I’m ready to deal with that kind of a crowd yet. I won’t stop the rest of you from going, though.”

“I’m hardly likely to fit in there either, James,” Skye said in a low voice. “I’m an orphan from Hell’s Kitchen. The Agent training is mostly still a facade.”

“If you want to go, I’ll help you,” Steve offered. “I usually take Natasha with me to these things, if I have to go, or occasionally Maria. The media have gotten comfortable with me attending with friends and coworkers; we can always let Pepper tell them that you’re another for now.”

Pepper nodded. “I can do that, if it’s what you want. Getting you ready shouldn’t be too hard, either; I’m pretty sure Tasha has something that would fit you, and between the three of us hair and makeup shouldn’t be a problem…”

Skye bit her lip, torn in two directions. When her eyes met Bucky’s, he smiled and pulled her into his arms. “Go on, doll. Enjoy the evening. I’ll be fine here on my own.”

Finally, Skye nodded. “Alright.” She stood on her toes to give Bucky a soft kiss, then turned around in his arms. “If Steve will come with to keep me out of trouble, I’ll give it a shot.” She winced briefly at her own poor choice of words, but she cleared her expression quickly. There were some stories she was definitely not looking forward to sharing with her soulmates.

“Great.” Pepper smiled. “FRIDAY, ask Natasha if she’s free to help us get a guest ready for the gala. Steve, you’d better get yourself cleaned up and ready to go.” She paused, then looked at Bucky. “If you decide you’d like friendly company, Natasha and Clint are both in residence at the moment. And Sam lives nearby, as does Maria. You don’t have to stay up here alone unless that’s what you want.”

Bucky nodded. “I’ll think about it. Thanks.”

“Miss Potts,” FRIDAY said when the conversation paused, “Miss Romanoff said she is happy to help and that you can go right down.”

“Thank you, FRIDAY. Come on, Skye. It’ll be fun.” Pepper smiled.

Skye laughed. “I’m not too sure about that. But what the heck.” She followed Pepper into the elevator and into another apartment and only when a stunning redhead opened the door to let them in did she put the names together. Skye froze, wide-eyed.

“What’s wrong, Skye?” Pepper asked gently as Natasha frowned.

“I… nothing. I just…” she stopped herself mid-stammer, taking a deep breath and centering herself as May had taught her. “I hadn’t put the names together, is all. It hadn’t occurred to me that I might meet other Avengers while we’re here. And Agent Romanoff has been held up as a shining example of what I was learning.”

Natasha just chuckled. “You were SHIELD, then,” she said, accepting the information with a shrug and a wave for them to come in so she could close the door.

“Still am; just under a different Director.”

“I thought I knew most of the field agents before DC.” It wasn’t quite a question, but Skye answered anyway.

“I was made a level 1 agent the day the Triskellion fell. Literally.” Natasha nodded her acceptance. “Who was your SO?”

Skye made a face. “Grant Ward, before we found out he was HYDRA. Then Agent May took over.”

Natasha looked skeptical. “I thought she retired from the field?”

“She was on my team, at first just to fly the Bus. But when everything went haywire, I think she couldn’t not be involved.”

“And Coulson is persuasive,” Natasha commented with a nod. Skye froze for a heartbeat and Natasha rolled her eyes. “He’s not exactly being subtle, Skye. Of course we know he’s still alive. Irritated about being kept in the dark, but we figured he has good reasons.”

Skye just sighed. “Can I at least tell him you know?”

“Invite him for a visit,” Pepper suggested in a soft voice. “I might yell at him for letting us think he’s still dead, but then I’ll give him a hug and tell him how happy I am to see him.” Skye chuckled softly and nodded.

With help from Natasha and Pepper, Skye was quickly dressed to the nines and ready for the gala and given a brief overview about the charity it was benefitting. Pepper was ready not long after, just in time to meet Tony and Steve. They all gave Bucky hugs and kisses and left when Pepper insisted they’d be late.

The gala actually went much better than Skye had expected. Tony and Pepper caught and held the media’s attention expertly, and though there were more than a few photos snapped of Steve and Skye they were mostly left alone to observe and mingle on their own terms. Steve’s warm presence helped her keep her nerves under control, too, but she couldn’t keep herself from watching the room warily.

“What’s wrong, Skye?” Steve asked her as they paused between a pair of columns to just observe the crowd. They had a wall at their backs, so the chances of someone overhearing were small. Her behavior reminded him more of Natasha than he really wanted to think about; constantly aware of everyone in the room.

“The last posh party I attended was for a mission,” she explained quietly. “The guy took my infiltration personally, and the next time I saw him he shot me.” Steve stiffened, holding her tighter for a moment.

“How bad?”

“Let’s just say that my boss went to extreme lengths to save my life. I don’t want to talk about it here.” Steve nodded grimly but satisfied himself by keeping an arm around her. “I’m fine, Steve. I promise.”

“I could’ve lost you before we ever met. Does Bucky know?”

“Not specifically that; it was a few years ago. He knows more about my past, though, yeah.”

Steve sighed. “We’ll talk about it later. I’m sorry I brought it up.”

“It’s fine.” She smiled at him. “Oh, look, Pepper and Tony are dancing.”

“Would you like to join them?” Steve asked, glad for a different topic.

Skye hesitated. “I’m not much of a dancer, at least as far as ballroom goes, but if you don’t mind…”

Steve didn’t mind at all. He twirled her through several dance sets, though they traded off with Tony and Pepper for a few as well. Better to give the impression that it was all professional for them, as Pepper said. 

Tony did his best to make Skye laugh while they danced. He made snarky comments about some of the people around them, and she returned with a few quips about him that he just laughed off. She was fully aware of Tony’s reputation and his past in the public eye, and she tried to make it clear that she didn’t hold it against him.

But dancing with Steve was just… comfortable. He guided her carefully, easily able to cover for her occasional mis-steps, and she found herself relaxing completely in his arms. Once or twice she looked up and caught an expression of gentle tenderness on Steve’s face, though he always quickly smiled at her. She wondered if she was imagining it, but remembered how she and Bucky had been in the early days of building a relationship. Their soul bond, though not fully formed yet, did draw them together. She could trust this; it was real.

By the time they were able to get away, though, Skye was tired. While not as dangerous as infiltrating Quinn’s party in Malta, it was quite possibly almost as stressful. Her feet hurt in the heels she wore, and she was very tired of smiling and sharing polite non-conversation with strangers in between dances.

When they finally retreated into the limo, Skye slumped in her seat and kicked off her shoes as soon as the door was closed. 

“Well, I think that went smoothly,” Pepper said with a smile. “No awkward questions, at least not that I heard?”

“No, nothing,” Skye agreed with a sigh.

Tony chuckled. “Party not to your taste, Skye?”

“It was lovely. Just… difficult. I suppose they could be more fun if I knew who anybody was, or had opinions on whatever nonsense they were talking about. Is this really how people see the world?”

Steve shook his head, smiling. “There are some that do, yes, but not all of them.”

“I did, for a long time,” Tony admitted quietly. He absently gathered Skye’s feet into his lap and started rubbing; she moaned softly as she began to relax, but Tony wasn’t really listening. “I was very caught up in my own little world for a long time. Made a lot of bad choices and even more mistakes. But I’ve been working to turn that around.”

“You’ve come a long way in the past few years,” Pepper told him warmly. “And I’m very glad to have seen it.”

“Thanks, Pep.”

“It’s in the past, Tony,” Steve agreed with a smile that made Tony’s expression brighten. “Don’t worry about it.”

Skye just observed quietly, watching how Tony, Steve and Pepper interacted. She didn’t feel left out at all; it wasn’t that they were unaware of her, just that this was a part of their past that she hadn’t been there for. And that was okay.


	3. Forgot to Check In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some relationship building, some team bonding, and Skye remembers to check in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to NerdyKat for being a wonderful beta!

 

The next few days saw everyone busily occupied. The society columns covering the gala took Pepper at her word when she informed them that Steve’s plus-one was another business associate and left it at that. But a few photos of Skye and Steve dancing, Steve wearing an expression of quiet happiness, had leaked out. The tabloids were having a field day, speculating about her identity and whether that meant Captain America might be dating.

While Pepper and Maria handled the PR, Tony spent some time with SI’s lawyers. He was very secretive about what they were working on, but when Steve shrugged and said, “This happens sometimes. Nothing to worry about.” Skye and Bucky believed him.

Bucky started joining Steve on his morning run; since Sam was in town, he joined them as well. 

“I thought you lived in DC?” Bucky asked the first morning.

“I did,” Sam answered agreeably; all three men were keeping pace together. Steve and Bucky had gotten there early to take a couple of laps at their faster speed before Sam arrived. “But when I joined up with Steve, here, I needed to be closer to the rest of the team. I still go back to the VA in DC for a couple of weeks every other month or so, but I transferred to the one here for the rest of the time.”

Bucky just nodded his understanding.

The second morning that her guys were all otherwise occupied, Natasha stopped in to ask Skye if she wanted to join her in the gym.

“I would, but I didn’t really plan for this. I didn’t pack my workout clothes.”

“You can borrow some of mine,” Natasha offered. “Come on, we can change downstairs.”

Skye began with her usual Tai Chi warm-up. Natasha nodded and left her to it, taking up a different spot on the mats for a ballet warm-up instead. “You said you trained with May?” Natasha asked conversationally.

“Yeah. For the last year or so. I’m probably not in your league, but it’s still good practice.”

Natasha just smiled. “We will see.” Natasha didn’t go easy on her, but Skye didn’t expect her to. They sparred for a good few minutes before Natasha got Skye down with an unfamiliar move. Then the spar turned into a lesson, as Natasha taught both move and counter.

“You’re pretty good, kid,” Clint commented when they took a break. He tossed bottles of water to both women and Skye opened hers with a grateful smile. “I’m Clint Barton, by the way.”

“I know,” Skye answered as she caught her breath. “I’m Skye.”

“Melinda’s protegée,” Natasha added with a smirk.

Clint’s eyes widened. “I know you confirmed that May had gone back to field work, Tash, but teaching again?”

“She offered, when it turned out that my SO was HYDRA,” Skye answered quietly, and Clint just nodded acceptance. May’s protective nature probably kicked in.

Natasha froze. “You said yesterday that you trained under Ward, then May. Now you’re saying Ward was HYDRA?” she asked sharply.

Skye blinked at her, then nodded. “Yeah. Seems  _ his _ SO was also HYDRA, and Ward followed him. Said he owed him everything.”

Natasha began to curse in Russian.

“Grant Ward is a very dangerous man,” Clint said in a serious tone when it looked like Tasha wouldn’t be stopping anytime soon. They both knew his reputation within SHIELD.

With a shrug, Skye nodded. “I know. He’s come after me a few times since then. Fancies himself in love with me; thinks we  _ belong _ together, despite my soulmarks. Asshole.”

“So May decided you needed more training, to keep yourself safe?” Skye just nodded again. “Yeah, I can see that. So you’re part of Steve and Stark’s little circle of insanity?” Clint asked, changing the subject back to something safer.

Skye snorted a laugh and nodded. “I suppose you could say that, yeah. Me and James.”

“You’re gonna have your hands full,” Natasha smirked as the change in topic prompted her to put her temper in check. They would all have to be careful, though. “You come find me when you hit testosterone overload, yeah?”

Skye nodded. “I think I’d like that. My team’s about half women, so that doesn’t…” Skye trailed off and her eyes went wide when she thought about her team. “ _ Shit _ .”

“What?”

“I need to call in. We switched out of the hotel  _ days _ ago…” Skye scrambled to her feet, but Clint caught her.

“I doubt it’s necessary at this point,” Clint said soothingly. “I’m pretty sure May’s already on her way if it’s been four days since you checked in.”

Skye let her head fall into her hands. “She’s gonna kill me.”

“No, she won’t,” Natasha assured her. “You weren’t on a mission, you were on personal time. It’s easy to lose track of things when you have a new soulbond. She’ll understand.”

“I should still call DC.”

“Alright.” Clint let her go and Skye dashed for the elevator. He and Natasha exchanged a glance of concern before leaving the gym as well.

Clint was right; May showed up at the tower mid-afternoon.

Surprisingly, Natasha offered to be the one to meet May in the lobby. Skye just blinked at her at first. “Why?”

“We always got along pretty well. If she is angry, I can probably talk her down before she gets up here.”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Bucky spoke up. “Thank you,  маленький танцор." 

Natasha just smiled and when May showed up on the entry cameras she headed straight for the elevator.

Skye leaned against Bucky, who wrapped an arm around her comfortingly. “It’ll be alright, Skye. Yes, we forgot to check in, but she’ll understand.”

“And we’ll be right here with you,” Steve added, wrapping his arms around both of them. Skye sighed and let their warmth relax her. “This is really bothering you,” Steve said after a moment of studying Skye. “Will you tell us why?”

With a sigh, Skye nodded. “I guess. I never really cared about what people thought, until my team became my family. Then I discovered something: I hate disappointing DC and May. I never want it to happen, and I feel awful when it does.”

“I’m not disappointed, Skye.” 

Skye pulled quickly away from her soulmates and ran to May; the older woman caught and held her for a long moment. “I’m sorry,” Skye whispered. Steve and Bucky stood back, Bucky with a small smile and Steve with an assessing look. The petite Asian woman holding Skye had a look Steve associated with Natasha; effortlessly graceful, and probably deadly when she wanted to be.

“It’s alright, Skye. We were worried when we couldn’t reach you, so the Director called Maria. She confirmed that you were here, so I came.”

With a smile and a nod, Skye stepped away to give May back her personal space. “I’m sure you know who Steve is. Steve, this is my SO and mentor, Melinda May.” She paused to let them shake hands politely, murmuring greetings to each other. “I’m glad you’re here,” Skye told May afterwards. “It’s good to see you. Do you think maybe you, DC and the team could all come visit? I’d like everyone to meet my soulmates. Besides, Fitz will flip.”

“You found them all?” May asked with a hint of a smile.

“Yep! We knew about Steve from the handwriting; our fourth is Tony Stark.”

“Stark. Really?” May raised an eyebrow, holding in a smirk. “Have you bruised his ego yet?”

The question set Skye to laughing and Bucky chuckled. “Only a little. He tried to find my orphanage records, but they’re gone.”

Natasha looked at May questioningly, and May nodded in response. Then appraising green eyes turned back to Skye. “Secret skill set?” Natasha asked.

Shaking her head, Skye answered, “Not secret at all. I was initially picked up by SHIELD because I’m a hacker.”

“Takes a pretty good hacker to get on SHIELD’s radar.”

“Well, I might have hacked into SHIELD itself. From my van. On a laptop I won in a bet. Using public wi-fi.” Skye looked a little abashed, but still proud of herself, and Natasha burst out laughing. 

“Please, please, let me back you in a hacking contest with Stark,” Natasha pleaded, voice full of amusement. “I’ll split the take with you.”

“Why would you need to hack SHIELD?” Steve asked, confusion in his tone.

Skye looked over her shoulder at him, then began to usher everyone towards the lounge area seating. “Remember I mentioned the single redacted file when I was looking into my identity?” Steve nodded. “Redacted by SHIELD. Nothing more. So I wanted to find the original, if I could.”

Steve nodded his acceptance as he and Bucky sat on a couch, pulling Skye down to sit between them. Natasha and May took seats on another couch, and after Natasha glanced upwards for a moment Clint dropped down out of a vent in the ceiling to perch on the back of the couch beside Natasha.

“Did you ever find out what you wanted to know?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, mostly. Coulson found it for me.” 

“Skye!” May hissed reprovingly. Then she paused, noting the complete lack of surprise from the rest of the room. She turned to look at Natasha and Clint. “You knew.”

“We knew,” Natasha confirmed, her voice steely. “He was walking openly through the HUB, Melinda. He hasn’t exactly been keeping a low profile the past few years!” May sighed but nodded.

“We want to see him, Mel,” Clint added. “We kept it to ourselves, until SHIELD fell and our team needed to know. We haven’t discussed it outside the team. But we want to talk to him. To hear him tell us why.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” May agreed.

“We need to talk to him to work things out anyway,” Skye added. When May raised an inquiring eyebrow, she continued, “I don’t want to leave the team, but I’m not willing to be so far away from my soulmates either.”

May nodded in understanding. “I’m sure Coulson will find a way.”

\-----

A few hours after May left, Tony came back from his meeting and Sam arrived to join them for dinner. The five of them were joined by Pepper, Clint and Natasha. They spent the dinner itself exchanging small talk and getting to know each other better.

“So, much as I love just spending time here,” Sam began after they finished eating, “Steve did say that you had something specific in mind.”

“Tony has a new charity project he’s working on,” Pepper began, smoothly taking up a business-like approach to the topic. “He would like to set up something to benefit orphans and orphanages; starting with locally and then perhaps expanding. But we need to find people who can help us understand the logistics and needs of both the children and the facilities.”

Sam leaned back in his chair, digesting the new information. “What brought this on?”

“Ultimately, it’s about me,” Skye offered in a low voice. “I grew up in St. Agnes Orphanage, in Hell’s Kitchen. Decided to age myself out at 16 rather than waiting for 18, had some bad experiences, and Tony wants to fix it for the next group of kids.”

“Lotta orphans have problems,” Sam said thoughtfully.

“That happens anytime there are too many kids and not enough care-givers. Not to mention the fact that kids don’t usually become orphans without death or trauma of some kind,” Clint spoke up; his tone caught Skye’s attention and she began to wonder. He spoke as if from personal experience, not just knowledge of the subject.

“So you want to… what?” Sam asked.

“Well, I offered to just buy the place,” Tony said with a shrug. “But Skye’s right when she says that we don’t know enough about what it takes to run an orphanage. I’m not letting this go, though. I want to help.”

“Helping the next generation of struggling kids isn’t a bad goal,” Sam agreed with a grin. “So you lot need input from administrators, caregivers, maybe child psychologists, yeah?”

“To start with, yes, I think so,” Pepper said cautiously. “Perhaps a contact with child services as well.”

“I had another idea, too,” Skye said slowly. “I honestly have no idea if it’s feasible, or even a good idea, though.”

“What’s on your mind, girlfriend?” Sam asked.

“Do you think the VA would be interested in a mentorship program with orphans? I mean, most kids stuck in the system really just want someone to make them feel safe and wanted. And from what I understand, a lot of vets have lost family, friends… they feel disconnected. Maybe if we could pair them up, they’d both benefit?”

Steve and Bucky both started grinning as they listened to her talk. “I think that’s a great idea, doll. I ain’t never felt more stable than I have since I found you and the rest of our soulmates. Not everyone has that, but if they could feel connected to someone…”

For a long moment, Sam just blinked at Skye. “You know, I can’t believe no one’s thought of that before. We have programs to provide Vets with mentors, usually businessmen, entrepreneurs - a lot of vets have the motivation to start their own businesses once they’re out, but they don’t necessarily have the know-how. But I’m honestly not sure why there isn’t a mentorship program to put Vets in the position of being mentors too. It would be great for morale, to feel like they’re giving something back. I mean, not all of ‘em will want to, and not everyone likes kids. But…”

“But Vets would have the discipline some of those kids are seriously lacking,” Natasha spoke up with a sidelong glance at Clint, who just grinned at her. “Not only that, but they understand the importance of discipline and teamwork.”

“If more kids in the system had someone they felt gave a damn about them personally, maybe fewer would run away,” Clint added.

“Do you have a contact at the orphanage that we could discuss a project like this with?” Sam glanced around the table, excited.

“No.” Skye shook her head. “I mean, I can give you names of some of the nuns who might still be there. But you’re probably better off going through social services to start with.”

“And if this mentorship program needs funding,” Tony added gleefully, “I’m sure we can work it into the Foundation’s budget.”

“But Tony, there isn’t even a foundation yet!” Skye protested.

“Well, sweetheart, that’s where you’re wrong. Here.” Tony retrieved a manilla folder from his briefcase and passed it over, smiling. Skye opened it and began skimming the documents, Bucky leaning in close to read over her shoulder.

“No. Tony, I don’t want my name on this thing.” The foundation name read _ The Skye Foundation for Orphaned Children _ .

“But sweetheart, this whole thing is for you. For other kids like you, so they don’t have to go through what you did,” Tony wheedled.

“I can’t. I just…” Skye took a deep breath, centering herself and thinking about it logically. “Can we compromise, maybe?”

“What do you suggest, Skye?” Pepper asked kindly, shooting Tony a look that made him close his mouth over his arguments.

“Call it The Daisy Johnson Foundation. If you want to name it for me, that’s what I want.”

“Why?” Tony asked.

Skye just shook her head, biting her lip, and glanced at Bucky. Bucky took a deep breath, pulled her into his lap gently, and answered for her, “Because that would have been her name, had she not been taken away from her parents.”

“How do you know?” Steve asked softly, his expression sympathetic.

“Because they weren’t dead. I was kidnapped by HYDRA, then placed in the system by SHIELD.” Shocked silence met her quiet admission, and she burrowed tighter against Bucky. “I met them earlier this year, but they’d both basically gone insane after losing me. My mother is dead now, and my father was given a new life with no memory of us.”

“Why not just imprison him, send him to mental health, if he’s really crazy?” Tony asked bluntly, though he flinched when Pepper and Steve both glared at him for the tactless question.

“He saved Skye’s life,” Bucky said when Skye didn’t answer. “He killed Jiaying before Jiaying could kill Skye; she attacked Skye just for being in the way. His love for and need to protect his daughter were stronger than his love for his wife, and he made the hard choice at that critical moment.”

“This way,” Skye added, her voice choked with tears that she wouldn’t let fall, “he has a chance to do some good in this fucked up world. Without the pain that cost him his sanity.” Skye broke away from Bucky and dashed for the stairs. She sprinted up them to the floor above and shut herself into her room.

Tony and Steve both started to follow her, but Natasha’s sharp tone stopped them. “Don’t. Leave her alone for a while. If she wanted company, she’d have stayed.”

“But…”

“Some people just need time alone,” Clint agreed with Natasha. “Let her have it. You can go see her later.”

Pepper scooped up the folder of formation documents for the new Foundation and very neatly crossed out the name and wrote in  _ The Daisy Johnson Foundation for Orphaned Children. In memory of… _ She paused. “What was her father’s name?” she asked quietly. Bucky supplied it, and she finished writing.  _ In memory of Calvin Johnson. _

No one really had anything more to add before she scooped up the file and left.

\-----

An hour and a half later, a soft voice startled Skye out of her brooding, asking, “Do you want to talk about it?” She looked around, but no one else was in the room. So she looked up, and saw an air vent over her bed.

“Not really,” she answered. “But you can come down if you want.” Clint opened the vent and dropped down into her room, closing it again afterwards; Skye was glad she’d seen him do something similar earlier than afternoon or she’d have been hard pressed not to quake the room and ask questions after.

“How about a hug?” he offered when she didn’t say anything else, and grinned when he got a small smile and a nod in answer. He sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms gently around Skye when she leaned into him. “You don’t have to talk about anything, if you don’t want to.”

“Can I ask you something?” she ventured after several quiet moments.

“Sure, sweetheart.”

“How do you know so much about orphans? It’s not something a lot of people know about.”

Clint sighed quietly, but decided that if it would help her he could talk about it a bit. “I was an orphan, too. Ran away and joined the circus, actually, but I spent some time in the system.”

“The circus?” Skye snorted a giggle. “I didn’t think people still did that.”

“Well, they don’t anymore. But I’m rather a bit older than you are, kid.” 

Skye listened quietly, slowly relaxing as Clint’s stories of his first couple of foster homes and then his early years in the circus took her mind off her own problems. Clint, too, found some solace in both helping her to calm down and in talking to someone who understood his childhood in a way that only another product of the system could. 

“Listen, darlin’,” he began slowly after he knew she was relaxed, but still awake and aware. “I know you know that they’re your soulmates and they don’t mean to hurt you. But this settling in period is never easy, especially when you find your soulmates later in life. If you need it, Tasha and I have your back.”

Skye sighed softly. “It’s hard for me, too. I know they need to know what’s likely to set me off, but they’re not going to like hearing about all the things that set me off. And I’m only just recently getting used to having people around who actually give a shit.”

“I know, Skye. I know, I’ve been there too. That’s why I’m willing to step in and tell them to back off if you need me to. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, but it doesn’t have to happen.”

“If we do end up staying here… I’d like to try to find someplace I can be alone. Someplace where I can’t be found.”

Clint grinned. “I think I know just the place. Might require you to learn a new skill.”

“I could be up for that,” she agreed with an answering grin. “I think, though, that what might be even more important is to make them understand. I’m not a damsel in distress. I don’t need them to shelter and protect me. They can’t fix everything that’s been wrong with my life…”

“You know Pepper would make Tony scrap the orphan’s foundation if you asked her to, right?”

“No, I didn’t. But I don’t know that I actually want him to,” Skye answered. “I agree in principle that kids shouldn’t have to live through the kinds of things I have. It would be nice if we could help build a world where that sort of thing doesn’t happen.”

“But?” 

“But just because this is one thing that can be fixed, I don’t want him thinking that this is the answer to everything.”

“Because it’s not. I get that,” Clint agreed. “We’ll help make sure he does, too.” Skye didn’t answer, unsure whether she actually wanted help or if she should admit that she might need it.

“Skye?” Bucky’s voice sounded through the door accompanied by a soft tapping. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, James. It’s your room too,” she called back quietly. Bucky let himself into the room, freezing briefly upon realizing that Skye wasn’t alone.

“I should go,” Clint said in a low voice. He pressed a light kiss to Skye’s head before disentangling himself from her. She just smiled and he slipped past Bucky and out the door.

“You alright, doll?” Bucky asked quietly when they were alone again.

“Yeah. Clint was distracting me from thinking too much,” she explained. “It’s hard, you know? I get that you guys are all stronger and smarter than me. But I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can, doll. You just met Steve and Tony; give them a little time, yeah?”

Skye sighed and nodded. “I’ll try.”

“Good girl. Want to come back down for dessert?”

“There’s dessert?” Skye perked up a bit and Bucky laughed.

“Yeah. Tony ordered creme brulee, and Natasha offered to break out her special chocolate mousse if that would tempt you more.”

“I think I could be persuaded,” Skye agreed, licking her lips. Bucky groaned and caught her lips in a kiss, chasing her tongue with his own. They stayed that way, kissing deeply, for several long minutes before Skye pulled away. “Come on. Dessert is calling my name.”

Bucky escorted Skye back downstairs, holding her hand gently but otherwise letting her stand on her own. He understood her habit of self-reliance; they would just have to help Steve and Tony do the same thing. By the time they reached the dining area, Skye’s usual cheerful demeanor was back in place. 

When neither Tony nor Steve seemed to know what to say, Natasha got up and tugged Skye and Bucky back over to the table. “Stay right there, Cкай. I’ll be right back.” She disappeared into the kitchen; while she was gone, Steve passed both Bucky and Skye little dessert dishes; creme brulee, as promised, with fresh berries on top of the glazed sugar. Before Skye could dig into hers, though, Natasha came back with a small bowl; she placed it in front of Skye and grinned as the younger girl’s eyes went wide.

“Oh, God, Nat. This smells amazing!” Skye exclaimed. Tony and Sam braced themselves, waiting for Natasha to yell at Skye the way she’d reamed into others for unsolicited nicknames. The redhead just smiled, startling everyone except Bucky and Clint.

“My secret recipe. Here.” She leaned in over Skye’s shoulder and plucked one of the berries off Skye’s creme brulee, dipping it in the thick chocolate mousse and holding it to Skye’s lips for her to taste.

Skye moaned softly in pure enjoyment as the chocolate melted on her tongue. She tasted hints of something else, fruit maybe and possibly alcohol. After her first taste, Skye cradled the bowl possessively, eating slowly with small spoonfuls to make it last.

Steve finally chuckled and tucked into his own dessert as the atmosphere around the table relaxed. Tony looked speculatively at Skye’s bowl but decided not to push his luck; at least she’d come back down to join them. 

“Hey, Clint, do we still have those isolated laptops from before DC?” Natasha asked, her tone laced with amusement.

“Sure, why?” 

“You need something hacked?” Tony asked, always happy when talk turned to technology.

“Well, yes, but it’s not urgent. I was thinking, though, that it might be fun to see who’s a better hacker,” Natasha said nonchalantly.

Tony’s eyebrows almost lifted off his face. “You know there isn’t a better hacker out there than me, Widow.”

“You so sure of that, Stark?” she shot back.

“Of course,” Tony said. “I got into Fury’s secret files on the Tesseract, didn’t I?”

Clint snorted. “From inside the Helicarrier, while Steve was unearthing physical evidence at the same time.” Steve opened his mouth to defend his soulmate but Natasha plowed ahead before he could.

“Care to put your money where your mouth is, Tony?” Natasha asked, one delicate eyebrow arched challengingly. Tony never could back down from a real challenge.

“Anytime!”

“Terms?” Clint asked, taking on the role of mediator.

“If my hacker beats you, Tony, you have to make me a new piece of tech. I don’t care how it works, as long as it does what I want it to do.”

“Fine,” Tony agreed, happy to innovate; he might offer to help her anyway after she lost. “If I win, you have to make Skye enough of that,” he pointed at the bowl, “to share every week for the next year.”

Skye’s eyes went wide, and she almost choked on her spoonful of chocolate but she didn’t argue. Under different circumstances, she might be tempted to lose just for the benefit Tony wanted. The mousse was just that good. But she also desperately wanted a real test of her skills versus Tony’s, and she knew she couldn’t throw the contest. She wanted to impress him, to prove that she was more than just another agent. That there was more to her than being his soulmate, if she was being completely honest.

Besides, if she won she could probably get Nat to make her more chocolate anyway.

“You’re on,” Natasha agreed. “We’ll set up the laptops tomorrow; they’re completely independent of any network system, already have software loaded so they can’t be traced, and are completely disposable if they need to be.”

“Fine. What’s the target?”

Natasha grinned. “No working ahead. We’ll tell you both tomorrow.”

Tony made a face but nodded his acceptance. “Just one more question then.” Natasha nodded. “Who am I up against?”

“Skye.”

Tony’s eyes went wide when Natasha, Skye, Clint and Bucky started to laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * маленький танцор = little dancer.
> 
> My apologies for using Google Translate for Russian - I know it's not always accurate, but I did try!


	4. A Hack-off and an IQ Test

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hack-off you've all been waiting for...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, many thanks to NerdyKat. This story wouldn't be what it has become without you.

The next morning, Skye was up early. She was too keyed up to sleep, so she went to the gym for her morning Tai Chi. After breakfast - late, due to Skye’s workout and Tony’s penchant for sleeping in - Tony and Skye met Clint and Natasha in one of the computer labs. Steve and Bucky were watching in via FRIDAY, but they didn’t want to be a distraction for the competitors.

Before handing over the computers, Natasha outlined the target; she specified a handful of details that were the minimum necessary for a successful run, but also included other factors that would be included in determining the winner. Things like how much information was recovered, how much time it took, whether there were any problems or possible ways that their hack could be detected. 

Though the computers were independent, each had a chip that allowed them to be monitored from a single source; usually that would be back end, but this time it would be Clint and Natasha themselves.

“Questions?” she asked. When they shook their heads, she grinned. “Then go.”

Natasha and Clint retreated to the back of the room, their tablet screen split so they could monitor both laptops.

It was a close race from the very beginning. Tony was hampered by the fact that he didn’t have all his usual tools at his disposal, but the system on the laptop was high end. Skye actually had the opposite problem; she had only been exposed to this level of SHIELD tech for a short time. Natasha smirked when she realized that Skye was writing several of her own programs as she hacked rather than using the tools on the laptop.

In the end, Skye won handily. She got in and out before Tony did, and she got away with more data. Both had thoroughly covered their tracks, though, and there had been no signs that their intrusions were detected.

Clint called Steve and Bucky in before they announced the winner. Tony looked amused and Skye bit her lip nervously as Clint had FRIDAY display the results. Recorded details, including gigabytes of data recovered, defenses encountered and tools used along the way, were projected for everyone to see. Though for the most part, the only ones really able to completely comprehend the information were the participants.

“And the winner is… Skye!” Clint called out dramatically as FRIDAY confirmed it. Bucky whooped a cheer; Skye started a little happy dance that was interrupted by Tony sweeping her into his arms.

“You’re amazing, Skye!” Tony enthused, amazingly chipper despite his defeat. He swung Skye around, grinning when she began to laugh. “I usually use JARVIS, or FRIDAY now, to work with me on this stuff. You did that all on your own, while you were writing the tools you needed…”

“Well, I was Rising Tide before I was picked up by SHIELD,” she said modestly. “It’s pretty much what I did before I went into field ops.”

“Rising Tide?” Steve asked curiously.

“A hacking organization,” Bucky explained quietly. “They hacked various government organizations, putting information out there for the public to see.”

“Wait, don’t tell me you were SkyeNet?” Tony asked, startled. “Why didn’t I make that connection before?”

“I was. Well, still am, I suppose, but I haven’t used the handle since becoming a SHIELD agent,” Skye answered with a small smile.

“Tell him how you got on SHIELD’s radar,” Clint suggested with a grin.

Skye blushed. “Oh, well…” When Tony just looked at her expectantly, she sighed. “I hacked SHIELD on a laptop I won in a bet from a coffee shop’s public wi-fi. I was looking for that redacted file I mentioned. When I couldn’t find it, I left a geotag attached to my next anonymous data post; I hoped I might be able to find what I wanted from inside SHIELD rather than outside.”

“Did you find what you wanted?” Clint asked curiously.

“Kinda. Coulson got me what he could, but it became too dangerous to dig deeper. Then HYDRA happened and all of SHIELD’s data went public. Eventually it didn’t matter; I learned the rest from my dad before… before they took him away.”

“You don’t have to tell us, Cкай. Let’s leave the past in the past for a while, mm?” Natasha suggested. “It’s about lunchtime for hungry hackers anyway.”

Tony laughed. “I had the kitchen whip up a celebration meal; figured we’d need it either way. Come on, let’s go enjoy it.”

\-----

After lunch, the group dispersed leaving Skye and Tony alone. “Hey, sweetheart, you want to come down and see my lab?” Tony asked spontaneously. Skye hesitated, but she didn’t actually have anything to do or anywhere to be so she shrugged and nodded. “Awesome.” Tony enthusiastically led her to the elevator. 

Tony’s lab took up an entire floor. Skye looked around, wide-eyed, seeing several versions of the Iron Man suit - a few in states of partial completion. “Oh, wow,” she breathed.

“Rather impressive, even if I do say so myself,” Tony agreed with a smirk. Skye swatted in his direction, and they both laughed. “Make yourself comfortable.”

Skye settled onto a stool at one of the work benches, and Tony sat across from her. “I’m afraid I really am a computer tech and not an engineer,” Skye admitted quietly. “This stuff looks amazing, but I wouldn’t have the first idea of what to do with any of it.”

“I’m sure you could learn it, if you wanted to,” Tony said confidently. “I probably couldn’t teach you; I’m actually a pretty lousy teacher. I built myself robotic assistants because I couldn’t handle interns and their incompetence.” Skye giggled and Tony gave her a small smile. “But I’m sure we could set you up with a course study if you’re interested.”

Skye blushed, looking down at her hands. She had them carefully folded where she wasn’t touching anything; she’d heard that Tony Stark could be a little OCD when it came to his gadgets and she was happy enough to get to see the lab. Fitz would be  _ so _ envious. “Not sure I could get accepted to a college program. I barely have my GED.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “And yet you can write hacking programs while you have a  _ hack in progress. _ Skye, sweetheart, have you ever taken an IQ test?”

Skye blinked. “Um, maybe. Back at the orphanage, I think, when I was young.”

Tony studied her for a moment, and Skye tried not to squirm. “I think,” he said slowly, “that if you’re willing, I’d like to see you take another one. You’re smart, Skye, amazingly so.” He held up his hand to stop her protest. “A lot of kids with gifts don’t do well in school; it’s a statistic, at this point. If school bored you and you didn’t care, of course you didn’t do well. Hell, I didn’t do well in some subjects; diagramming sentences in English wasn’t going to help me make the world a better place!” He grinned and Skye managed to smile back.

“No, I don’t suppose it would,” Skye answered after a moment. “I guess if you want, I can take the test. I’m a pretty quick study with computers, and I took pretty well to field training once I decided it was something I really wanted to do. But I’m not sure a college program is for me.”

“And it doesn’t have to be,” Tony agreed. “It’s fine if you don’t want to do it. God, Skye, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. You don’t even have to go back to SHIELD. You could stay here, work with the Avengers. I can take care of all four of us indefinitely and fund the Avengers besides.”

Skye shook her head, frowning. “No, I can’t do that. Wait, hear me out.” Tony closed his mouth and nodded at her, looking like he was trying to piece out a puzzle. “I get that you have more money than you know what to do with. But I can’t just let you take care of me. I can’t be idle, and I absolutely refuse to be a socialite trophy wife. I don’t think that’s how you see me, but that’s not how I want to be seen in general.” She bit her lip, trying to find the words to make Tony understand.

“I know this is hard for you to understand, but I can’t just sit back and let someone hand me the world. I’ve spent my entire life working, fighting even, for what I have. And I can’t stop; I need to keep doing it. I need to earn my way, to be respected for what I’ve done and what I can still do. Not just for who I am.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Tony said softly, his eyes gentle for once. “I have no doubt that you can do anything you put your mind to. You can move mountains if you set yourself up for it.” Skye burst out laughing and Tony paused, looking at her quizzically.

“I can, actually,” she told him when she calmed. “Move mountains. When I was learning to use my powers, I caused an avalanche by vibrating a mountain. We were in the middle of nowhere in the Himalayas, so no one was hurt. But yes, Tony, I can move mountains if I want to.”

Tony chuckled and nodded, his eyes wide and impressed. “Not quite what I meant, but… wait, really? You actually shook a mountain? I really want to hear more about this power, later. I know when we talked the other day, you mentioned getting powers via some sort of alien ritual thing, but if you can really affect an entire mountain I would really love to see it!”

Skye smiled, nodding. “Well, if we can be sure we’re somewhere that I can’t actually hurt anything important… than maybe we can arrange that.”

He calmed down, his expression growing serious. “I do understand the desire to achieve something, to be recognized for that. I won’t stop you from going back to SHIELD, though I’ll definitely miss you when you’re gone. But if you’re willing, I’ll set up a payroll account for you with Stark Industries. When time allows, I’d like you to take a look at our network and security. I’ll pay you for the work you do, and that money will be yours. Independent of me. Though I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to stop myself from buying you pretty things, either. So don’t expect too much from me, yeah?”

Skye laughed quietly. “I think I can manage that. And I can handle being on SI’s payroll, as long as what you’re paying me is  _ fair _ and not over the top just because I’m your soulmate.”

“Hey, SI pays its specialists very well, thank you,” Tony protested. “ All of them. But you can verify with Pepper if you really want to.” Skye smirked, and Tony rolled his eyes. “Besides, between here and SHIELD I can’t imagine that you have too many living expenses. It’s not like your paycheck has to cover a mortgage or anything like that.”

Skye stuck her tongue out at him, but couldn’t deny the logic. He wasn’t wrong. “Alright, alright. When do you want to do this test thing?”

“This afternoon?” Tony suggested. Skye sighed and nodded. Better to get it over with.

\-----

Steve and Bucky started their afternoon in the gym. Nothing like a friendly spar, especially one where they could go all out. Burned off a lot of the super-soldier energy and helped them sleep better at night.

“How are you doing, Buck? Really?” Steve asked afterwards, as they sat with water bottles in an otherwise empty gym.

“I’m doin’ alright. We told you how Skye and her team found me,” Bucky said, glancing at Steve who nodded. “They’ve got a therapist working with them, Dr. Garner. He’s actually a really good guy. He’s there with them to help the Inhumans come to terms with their changes, their power. He helped me, too. We spent a couple of months trying to undo what was left of HYDRA’s programming.” 

“That sounds rough. But it helped?”

“Yeah. Like I said, the doc’s a good guy. Helped Skye, too. Especially after losing her parents.”

Steve just nodded; no need to re-hash that story again. “We would’ve helped you too, you know. If you’d come here.”

“I couldn’t, Stevie,” Bucky said with a sigh. “Too many triggers. I started to remember who you were, but you were also my last target. I couldn’t take that chance. And...”

“And?” Steve waited patiently, not pressuring Bucky to continue other than the gentle prompting.

“And especially with other people in our soul bond, the only way to really make everything work is for us all to be equal. Which meant I couldn’t come back until I could stand on my own.”

“But Skye..?”

“Skye left me with the doc for therapy, left me with May and Mack to get physically back in shape. She spent time with me when I asked her to, and left me alone when I needed it. She went on with her mission, with her work, and when she needed me for support she asked.”

Steve digested the simple description quietly before nodding. “I wouldn’t have thought to give you that space. I’d have wanted to be with you, to take care of you the way you always took care of me.” Bucky just nodded. “But while it might have been good for a while, it wouldn’t have necessarily helped long-term.”

Bucky shrugged. “We don’t know that for sure. But this way, too, neither you nor Tony really had to deal with putting the pieces back together. I’m not quite the same Bucky you knew, and I’m sure you’re not quite the same Punk either. But at least now I know who I am as well as who I was.”

“And the rest will come,” Steve agreed. Bucky tossed an arm around Steve’s shoulder and Steve leaned his head against Bucky’s shoulder. “So does this century seem as insane to you as it does to me?” he asked after a moment. “Or did you get to experience enough of the changes over time?”

“Nah. Spent most of my downtime asleep.” Bucky shivered, despite the warmth of the gym, and Steve pressed a little closer. “I’ve been trained on how to use more modern tech, mostly for missions; GPS trackers, modern weapons, that sort of thing. Skye took it upon herself to walk me through changes in stuff like music and movies gradually.”

“Oh?” Steve’s curiosity piqued. “People keep giving me suggestions for stuff like music and movies. But while some of them are really good, at lot of them don’t make much sense.”

Bucky chuckled and nodded. “Skye thought it would make more sense for me to see or hear the evolution. So she set me up with a playlist of songs with her favorites in basically chronological order. The list has thousands of songs on it, and I still ain’t fully caught up. And she showed me how to make my own separate lists of songs I particularly like, so I can listen to them again without messing up the list she gave me.”

“That’s… really thoughtful of her, Buck. You think she’d mind if I shared it?”

“I think she’d be really happy you asked. Come on, I brought the player with me.”

\-----

Skye was bouncing and Tony looked like the cat with cream on his whiskers when they returned to Tony’s living level. Bucky and Steve were about two hours into Bucky’s musical catch-up list, it sounded like. 

“What are you listening to?” Tony complained when the music registered. 

Skye looked at the player’s display and nodded to herself. “The list I made Bucky to help catch him up to modern music. Ease him through music trends until he’s comfortable with what I listen to while I’m working.”

Tony blinked dumbly for a moment. “And it’s working?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, I like it a lot. We’re getting into what Buck said Skye called ‘sock hop’ music. It’s kinda fun, but I’m pretty sure I still know how to dance to it.”

“What’s got you two so excited?” Bucky asked.

Skye grinned and plunked herself down on Bucky’s lap. “Turns out I’m not as stupid as people think I am!”

“We never thought you were stupid!” Steve protested. He looked at Tony, who was back to humming proudly. “What did you do?”

“Gave her a standard IQ test. Our girl isn’t just a brilliant hacker, she’s just plain brilliant.” Tony sat on the arm of the couch beside Skye and Bucky and rested his hand on her shoulder proudly. “And I’m going to tell your team-mates so, when I meet them.”

Skye tipped her head back to look up at Tony. “Why?”

“Because no one should be allowed to underestimate you, but especially not your team,” Steve said, following Tony’s line of thought easily enough.

“We’re proud of you, doll,” Bucky added. “And we want you to feel valued and appreciated.”

“My team appreciates me,” she said with a frown. “No one on the team can do what I do.”

“I know, doll, but sometimes they talk over your head, yeah? And you sometimes feel like you don’t measure up.”

“Everyone feels that way sometimes,” she protested. “And Fitzsimmons are at least as smart as I am, plus better educated!”

“We’ll see,” Tony said. “You can all compare IQs sometime.”

“How does she compare to you, Tony?” Steve asked curiously.

“She’s about fifteen points behind. I’m around 190, she hits a solid 174.”

“That’s amazing!” Bucky enthused.

Skye studied Bucky for a long minute. “I’d like to see you take one sometime, actually. I’ve learned long-range sniper shooting. We have scopes and stuff that basically do all the math for us now, but I know your record from the war and I also know you didn’t have those tools back then either.”

Bucky just shrugged. “Maybe another time. I’m not actually worried about it. And two geniuses is plenty to be proud of.”

“As long as we’re smart enough to keep you from getting bored with us,” Steve added in a teasing tone.

“I don’t think that’s something you ever have to worry about, Capsicle,” Tony said with a fond smile.

“So, dinner?” Bucky asked, scooting Skye off his lap. “I’m hungry.”

“Supersoldiers. Never enough food,” Skye teased laughingly as she slid to her feet cooperatively.

They all laughed on the way to the dining room.

\-----

Skye was woken in the middle of the night by Bucky thrashing in his sleep. She rolled over to face him; sometimes he could be soothed out of his nightmares, other times it was best to just wake him. She brushed gentle fingertips across his brow, murmuring his name in a low voice.

Wrong choice, this time.

Skye found herself tumbled out of bed; she landed hard on the floor with Bucky tangled in the sheets. “Damn,” she swore. This wasn’t one of Bucky’s usual nightmares. “FRIDAY, call Steve please.”

“Captain Rogers is already on his way,” FRIDAY intoned in her soothing voice.

The door opened behind her as Skye scrambled to her feet. “Watch the left arm; he’s not as careful with it when he’s asleep,” Skye said in warning.

Steve scooped Bucky up, wrapping his arms around Bucky’s and effectively restraining them. Bucky fought against Steve’s hold, but they were evenly matched and Steve was actually awake. Tony hovered in the doorway, knowing he was no match for a super soldier without his suit.

“James,” Skye called out, trying to get Bucky’s attention enough to wake him up. After several futile attempts, Skye sighed. She laid her hand on Bucky’s metal shoulder and quaked him, just a little. The unfamiliar jolt of power managed to break through whatever dream cycle he was in and his body went still as his eyes blinked open.

“Skye? Steve? Did I..?”

“No one’s hurt, Buck,” Steve said soothingly. “You with us, now?”

Bucky tugged one arm free from Steve’s hold and scrubbed it over his face. “Yeah. I’m here. Just… dreams.”

“The experiments again?” Skye asked quietly. Bucky nodded as his eyes skimmed over her form.

“You alright, doll?” 

“I’m fine, James. My butt met the floor, but that’s all. Did I hurt you?”

Bucky shook his head. “Feels like you might’ve knocked a gear loose, but it’s not really pain.”

“You want me to take a look at it?” Tony offered, approaching slowly now that everything was calm.

Bucky hesitated, then shook his head. “Not right now. I think I just want to go back to sleep. And if it is broken...”

Skye bit her lip, looking from Bucky to Steve to Tony and back again. “Would it make you feel better if Steve stayed with you?” she asked, her voice supremely gentle.

Bucky looked guilty but he nodded. “Yeah. At least I know I can’t seriously hurt him in my sleep. I’m sorry, doll.”

“Shh,” she hushed him, a gentle fingertip on his lips for a moment. “It’s fine. Whatever you need to feel better, right? Just like you told me when I kept waking up crying, remember?”

“I remember. Thank you.” Bucky pulled her in for a grateful hug. Skye kissed him softly and then fussed with straightening out the tangled covers while Steve and Bucky got comfortable.

When she and Tony left the room, Tony pulled her into a hug of her own. “You’re really okay?”

“Yeah. I might have a bit of a bruise tomorrow, but it’s nothing. I’ve gotten worse in a spar with May.” He nodded acceptance of her assurance. “Sorry I commandeered your sleeping companion. I probably should’ve asked if anybody else minded.”

“I dunno, I might get lonely,” Tony teased, mock pouting at her. “Can I convince you to keep me company instead?”

Skye smiled. “Yeah, you can. But… I’m…” She paused, suddenly a little shy.

“No pressure. We’ll just sleep.” Tony yawned. “I’m not as young as I used to be, and between Steve and Pepper I’ve gotten used to an actual night’s sleep.”

“Okay. Thank you.” She followed Tony into the bedroom he and Steve shared, smiling a bit as she noticed the heavy blackout shades and the modern lines of the furniture. When she crawled in beside Tony, she moved right up to his side and rested her head on his chest. “Is this alright? I’ve gotten used to being snuggly when I sleep.”

Tony wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. “You betcha, sweetheart.” He turned off the light and pressed a soft kiss to her hair. “Sleep well, now.”

“You too, Tony. And… thanks. For understanding.”

“I won’t say I’m not looking forward to all of us bonding,” he said quietly into the dark room. “But I understand that it’s too soon. Is Bucky as old fashioned about sex as Steve?”

Skye shook her head a bit. “I don’t think so. He was always an assassin, not a spy… but I think there were times where HYDRA let him… and while he’s very conscientious about what I want, I think he figures that he’s too far gone to be a proper gentleman about it.”

“And you?”

Skye sighed, knowing what he was really asking. “I’m a modern girl, Tony. I don’t do one night stands, but I have been in relationships before.”

“Mmkay.” Skye chuckled as she snuggled into his side and closed her eyes. “One more question?” Tony asked as she got comfortable.

“Sure.”

“What did you do to wake Bucky?”

She sighed. “I quaked him. Used my power to make his arm vibrate oddly. We learned early on that he’d never before felt anything quite like my power, and in cases of an extreme nightmare or memory loop I’ve used it to shake him out.”

“But it bothers you.”

“Well, yeah. I really don’t like hurting people, especially people I care about. If I have to, I have to. But I don’t like doing it.”

“Does it have to hurt?”

“Well, no. I used it once to keep my friend’s heart beating. But control on that level is hard, and I don’t like taking chances.”

“And that’s what makes you a good person, Skye.”

“I know,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, sweetheart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I was short on details for the hack-off. I don't actually know enough about hacking to write it all out. Sorry! I hope you enjoyed anyway.
> 
> Also, if you're curious, the information I used on IQ levels is here: https://www.iqtestforfree.net/iq-scale.html
> 
> I have definite numbers in mind for the collection of genius characters in the MCU, but you'll have to wait and see what happens when people start discussing. :)


	5. Possible PTSD and Dumpster Diving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some one-on-one time as our various heroes get to know each other better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have now (finally) seen CA:CW. This is very definitely AU, and the events of CW will never happen in this 'verse. Among other things, everyone knows exactly where Bucky is so there will be no going off the deep end and Rumlow wouldn't be able to distract Steve with talk about Bucky.

Skye and Tony slept late the next morning. Tony was prone to sleeping in anyway, but Skye had also had a rough night. And with their usual partners in another room to get ready for their early run, there was nothing to wake either up before they were ready.

The four met up for breakfast as usual, though Skye was still a little groggy and Tony grumped until after his first cup of coffee. Steve and Bucky were their usual morning-people selves, though, and Skye just sighed patiently at them. “‘Morning, guys. Enjoy your run?”

“We did. Sam says hello, but he has to work today,” Steve replied with a sunny smile. “He said he’ll email over some contacts later, though, if that’s okay with you?”

“Sure. I can send him one of my public emails,” Skye responded absently, her attention more on breakfast and waking up.

“How many do you have?” Steve said, looking puzzled by the idea of needing more than one.

“Um… about ten, I think.”

Bucky just blinked while Steve boggled at the number. Tony didn’t react at all, just kept eating his eggs. “Why so many?” Steve asked at last.

“One for SHIELD internally, one for externally - though we don’t have a lot of contacts who know SHIELD is still around. My personal for close friends only. My ‘public’ that I share with acquaintances. Couple with high end encryption. Couple for my hacker contacts. You know. The usual.”

Tony started to laugh and a moment later Bucky joined him, just at the look of sheer bewilderment on Steve’s face. The laughter caused Skye to look up and she gave him a sympathetic grin. “It’s alright, Steve. If you need something handled with more security than you have now, I can take care of it for you. Though just so you know, you do have two email addresses.”

Steve blinked. “I do?”

“Of course you do. You have Captain America at Avengers dot org. One of our PR people screens your fan mail,” Tony finally chimed in.

“You screen my mail, Tony?”

Tony just shrugged. “All mine is screened as well. There’s an awful lot of junk. You’re not really saying that you want to sift through hundreds or thousands of emails a day, just to find the few that might have legit requests for you.”

Steve deflated with a shake of his head. “No, thank you. The ones I do get are more than enough for me to deal with.”

“You’re welcome.” Tony finished his food and sat back with a third cup of coffee while Skye finished eating and both Bucky and Steve went back for seconds. “How’s the arm this morning?” he asked, turning his attention to Bucky.

Bucky shrugged, but his left moved stiffly. “It’s not at peak functionality, but it still works.”

“My offer stands, if you want me to see if I can fix it. Who knows, I might be able to make you something better, even.”

Bucky looked suspiciously at Tony for a moment, then sighed. “I suppose if I’m going to trust anyone to poke around in there, it should be you.”

Skye put her hand on Tony’s arm and murmured, “He wouldn’t let any of the SHIELD techs touch it. Not even my friend, who’s a good engineer and has made prosthetics before.”

Tony nodded seriously to Bucky when Skye fell quiet. “I give you my word, I only want to help. I wouldn’t want to do anything to break your trust.”

Bucky nodded back, watching Tony and Skye thoughtfully. “Alright. After breakfast, then.”

As soon as they cleared away their dishes, Tony took Bucky down to his lab. Bucky looked around curiously while Tony got out his tools and set them all up on a wheeled table and set the whole thing up beside a chair. He hooked a wheeled stool out from under the table with a foot and sat down, waiting with unusual patience for Bucky to feel comfortable enough to come sit.

“I didn’t realize there were multiple Iron Man suits,” Bucky said eventually as he settled into the chair. “They’re not quite all the same, but close enough that I’d bet a lot of people can’t tell the difference between them.”

“You’re not wrong,” Tony commented, though his attention was mostly on the arm Bucky presented him with. He poked around for a bit at first, learning how to open the various panels and access points.

“Tell me about them?” Bucky asked in a low voice. “I need to… not think about what you’re doing.”

Tony shot him a glance, with a depth of understanding in his eyes that took Bucky by surprise. So Tony proceeded to give Bucky the technical details of each of his suits, starting with the Mark II, while he worked. Bucky just listened quietly, watching Tony’s expression while he talked. Not until Tony finished his monologue and was working diligently on tightening up something inside his arm did Bucky speak again. “You didn’t mention the Mark One. Why?”

Tony froze in place for a moment, focusing even more intently on his repairs when motion resumed. He was silent for a long time. Bucky carefully watched Tony’s face, particularly his eyes, and said nothing. Just waited patiently.

“The Mark I was a shoddy job made from spare parts and scrap when I was held captive by terrorists in Afghanistan,” he said finally. “Look, it was rough but I escaped. Nothing compared to what you’ve been through. I’m not sure it’s even serious compared to what Skye has been through.”

Bucky reached over with his flesh hand and rested it on Tony’s arm for a moment. “Trauma isn’t relative, Tony,” he said in a low, sympathetic voice. “Skye probably wouldn’t have lived through what you did. I might not have survived what Skye did. We each experience events in a unique way. That doesn’t make your suffering less relevant.”

Tony just stared at him for a long moment, neither of them moving. Then Tony nodded brusquely and returned his attention to Bucky’s arm. Bucky sat, still and quiet, while Tony finished up. Only when he flexed his arm to assess its motion did he finally speak again. “You don’t have to talk about it, Tony. But if you ever want to… I’m here to listen. Skye will too, and I’m just as sure that Steve would as well. But on your time. The repair feels pretty great. Thank you.”

“I can tell is was pretty advanced for its time, but we can do better now. If you ever want to, you know,” Tony offered in a tone closer to normal.

Bucky just smiled in response.

\-----

When Tony took Bucky downstairs, Steve looked hopefully at Skye. “Do you think we could listen to more of the playlist you made Bucky? And you can tell me more about the music?”

Skye smiled and shrugged. “Sure.” She retrieved Bucky’s music player, found where they’d been the evening before, and turned it back on. Then she grabbed her tablet, the better to reference facts she couldn’t recite off the top of her head.

“How did you get into all this?” Steve asked after half an hour of discussing what Skye called “classic” bands.

“I’ve always loved music,” Skye explained readily. “The nuns at the orphanage weren’t big on modern music, though. Too much risque behavior and lewd lyrics, they would say. But big band era, through the ‘sock hop’ age and into early rock… they didn’t mind so much. The subject material was more acceptable. So I listened to a lot of this stuff when I was young.”

“Sounds like there were a lot of things the nuns didn’t like. Means they haven’t changed much, then, if I’m remembering my school days right.”

Skye just shrugged. “Some of them might have been old enough to have learned from the same nuns you did. One generation to the next, I suppose,” she added with a small smirk. Steve laughed and nodded. 

“Seriously, though, you’ve accomplished a lot in your life. You know so much about so many things.” Steve’s smile was admiring.

“Well, I don’t know how much of that is true. But I have easy access to a vast majority of the knowledge in this world,” she said softly, holding up her tablet. “If I can’t find an answer, I can probably find someone else who has it. And that’s a really awesome thing. People working together to solve problems.”

“I think that’s a good idea, honestly,” Steve agreed. “And it’s certainly easier than it used to be, that’s for sure. Is that why you hack?”

“It used to be; sometimes it still is,” she admitted softly, her expression thoughtful though there was a light in her eyes he hadn’t seen before. “While I have come to agree with SHIELD that there are just some things that the general populace isn’t quite ready for, I still think that most information should be out there. Should be shared. Because no one person is ever going to have 100% of the answer. But 100 people with 1% of the answer is just as good. And it’s beautiful when it all comes together.”

Skye blushed when she realized Steve was just smiling at her with a look of awe in his eyes. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get on my soapbox.”

Steve shook his head, smothering a smile as he realized there was another expression still in use that he understood. “No, don’t apologize. I can see that you’re really passionate about it, and I think that’s beautiful too. I can’t even disagree with you. I understand operational security, but my big argument with Fury was that he took it too far. SHIELD kept so many secrets that HYDRA managed to continue on within the very organization intended to prevent such things from ever happening again. I didn’t fight against HYDRA in the 40s just to see something like Project Insight happen.”

Skye nodded with a small smile. “You’ve been through a lot, too, Steve. More than I have.”

“It’s different, though,” Steve interrupted. “Sure, I went on a mission I didn’t think I’d come back from, and when I did anyway it was 70 years later. But I knew who I was when I hit the ice. You didn’t have that base, that foundation of family. And you’ve made so much of your life anyway. That’s worth being proud of, Skye.”

“That’s what Coulson said,” she admitted softly. “He really did try to help me find out more about my parents, you know. Why I ended up at that orphanage. And maybe my childhood might have been a little easier if I had known that I kept moving because of a SHIELD protocol and not because the families didn’t want me. But I know now, after finding out what SHIELD knew, even just knowing that much could have been dangerous for me. So I have to focus on that; the fact that I was safe, even if I wasn’t always happy. Because it’s better than the alternative.”

“I get that, Skye. I really do. After my dad died, Bucky’s family basically adopted my ma and me. We moved into their place, pooled our food stamps, and all worked together to keep the heat running in the winter and food on the table. It wasn’t uncommon at that time for extended families to live together in the same way. I think our whole family lived in less space than one of our bedrooms here.”

“And the fact that we have so much space feels decadent to you,” Skye agreed with a sympathetic nod. “When I left the orphanage and bought my van, it was like heaven. It wasn’t much, but it was mine alone. I didn’t have to share, no one’s nightmares woke me up except my own. I have my own  _ room _ on the SHIELD base, and an office, and I can use any of the lounges or common space. But all of this...” She waved her hand around, indicating Tony’s surefit of luxury.

“Yeah, me too,” Steve agreed, capturing her hand and tugging her closer. Skye went willingly and Steve wrapped his arm around her. Skye leaned her back against his side comfortably. “Sam asked once what I thought of this new century. My first thought was how much better the food is.” 

Skye giggled and nodded. “Yep. We got fed whatever was cheap, in the orphanage. Lots of peanut butter sandwiches. Oatmeal. Apples and bananas. We had these pressed-turkey loaf things for Thanksgiving one year.”

“Sounds a lot like what we had as a kid. Lots of canned beans. Heavily preserved meats, maybe, if we could afford them. Vinegar was cheap, and a workable preservative, so a lot of things were pickled. We used to try to trap pigeons and squirrels to make stew with, but the city got pretty picked over after a few years of people doing that.”

Skye wrinkled her nose. “Pigeons? Really. Eww.”

With a wry grin, Steve nodded. “Not really tasty. But when you’re hungry…”

“You learn to eat almost anything. I know,” Skye finished for him. “There were a few times like that for me, too, after I ran away. It’s not something I tell many people, but I have been through times where I’ve had to make one sandwich last three meals. Where I went into a diner or a coffee shop and offered to help clean up at closing if they’d let me have leftovers. A couple of times I even resorted to dumpster diving.”

“Dumpster diving?” Steve asked, unfamiliar with the term.

“Oh, you know. When you go through trash dumpers at the back of restaurants or sometimes apartments, trying to find something edible.”

“Oh,” Steve said, digesting that information. “We didn’t have to go that far. Though really, in that era no one threw away food. There just wasn’t enough of it.”

“Yeah, but people do it now more often than you’d think. And when you haven’t eaten in two days, almost anything looks possible. I learned to make some of those baked casserole things, too, back at the orphanage. You know, the ‘throw whatever in the pan and cook it all together’ kind of thing that you can use to feed hundreds of people with minimal work. Or when you don’t have a lot of options as far as food, but want to make it last as long as possible even if the date says the can was expired.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. We got a few of those in Basic, too.”

“I admire your determination to join the military during the war,” Skye said quietly, changing the subject deliberately away from hungry times for both of them. “A lot of people would have taken the excuse to stay home due to their health. That you felt you couldn’t do that says a lot about you.”

“I couldn’t see any other way to make a difference in the world. There were never going to be a lot of opportunities for a guy like me. I had a tough time holding down a normal job, didn’t have the strength for any of the factories, and I got fired a lot due to missing work when I was ill. Which was often.” Skye nodded, listening without interrupting. “When Bucky joined up, I was so proud of him. He was going to make something of himself, learn skills he wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. The money he would make in the Service would feed the rest of his family and keep a roof over their heads. He had the chance to rise above where we started from. And I wanted that for myself, too.”

“And you kept trying until you got it. Until Dr. Erskine picked you, out of all the possible options, for Project Rebirth.” Skye smiled. “It’s part of history now, Steve. Peggy Carter, Howard Stark and the Howling Commandos told your stories to anyone who would listen; and trust me, that was a lot of people.”

“History for you. For me, that was all of about five years ago.”

“And I know it’s a horrible disconnect. I can’t even imagine how that felt. But it must have happened for a reason, and at least Fate - or maybe God, if that’s how you want to think about it - gave you soulmates to help you adapt to your new life. And you got to keep Bucky too.”

“Did you have a Bucky when you were a kid, Skye?” Steve was genuinely curious.

“Kind of,” Skye replied thoughtfully. “I guess you could say I did, after a fashion. He was another orphan, but he was orphaned a lot older so he knew what life was like outside the system. A lot of the other kids avoided him, too; he was blinded in an accident. Some sort of chemicals hit his face. So he couldn’t play the way other kids did.”

“Kids at the orphanage avoided you?”

Skye made a face. “Yeah. I was trouble. Kept getting sent back, never in a foster home for more than a few months. And then, the nuns were really hard on me too, because of my soulmarks. So I was alone a lot, before Matt. He didn’t seem to mind a kid like me hanging around, either. So we stayed friends.”

Steve smiled at the picture she painted with her words. “Is this the friend who helped you get your GED after you skipped out on the orphanage?”

Skye nodded. “Yep. He aged out, but was able to go to college because the state couldn’t touch the money left to him by his dad. He just couldn’t get at it, either, until he was eighteen.”

“Do you still talk to him?”

“Once in a while, yeah. But I started to keep my distance because I didn’t want to get him into trouble. He was going to law school and I was hacking government agencies.”

“You could get back in touch with him now, though,” Steve suggested with a small smile. “You work for one of those agencies, these days.”

“Yeah, maybe. I’ll think about it.”

“If he means as much to you as Bucky did to me, even when we were kids and weren’t bonded yet, then I’m sure it’s worth it. And that he’ll be glad to hear from you, too.”

“You might be right. I’ll see what I can come up with, alright?”

“Good. And if you need my help…”

“I’ll keep it in mind.” Steve caught the evasion and decided that he’d help if he thought she needed it, without her having to ask. After all, he remembered a time when it was hard to ask for help too. No matter how much he might have needed it.

\-----

Skye and Bucky wound up having the afternoon to themselves; Tony got called to SI by Pepper, and Steve had an appointment with Make-A-Wish about a little boy’s wish to meet Captain America. Steve had looked torn about whether or not to go, but Skye assured him they’d still be there when he got back and they didn’t know how long the poor kid had.

“Well, what would you like to do with our afternoon, doll?”

“How’s your arm?” Skye asked, rather than answer immediately.

“Good as new. Better than it’s been in a while, really. I probably should’ve taken Fitz up on his offer to give it a once-over, even if I didn’t want to let him start on a replacement.” Bucky shrugged, but Skye just nodded. She knew how hard it had been for Bucky to trust anyone despite SHIELD’s attempt to take him in.

“Cool. Then maybe we could go swimming? I packed my suit, because we knew the hotel would have a pool, remember?”

Bucky started to smile and nodded. “Sounds great. And I don’t even have to wear a shirt to hide my arm, here.”

“Let’s go change, then. We can raid the bathroom for towels.”

“Towels are available at the pool,” FRIDAY spoke up.

“Even better. Thank you, FRIDAY,” Skye answered.

“My pleasure, Miss Skye.”

Skye muttered under her breath about too-polite AIs as she and Bucky changed into their swimsuits. Bucky whistled appreciatively at Skye in her two-piece suit; he knew she was still self-conscious about her scars, and he did his best to make sure she knew she was still beautiful despite them. God knew he had enough scars of his own, and she never made him feel conscious of them in the slightest. She hadn’t wanted to wear her old suit, but he had convinced her that she didn’t need a one-piece. She survived the injury - he had no idea how, but she had - and to him that was the most important part.

When they reached the pool, Skye dove right in and swam a few laps. Bucky quickly caught up to her, then slowed to match her pace. They swam around for a bit before Skye hooked her head over the lip of the pool and just floated, relaxing in the water.

“You and Steve enjoy yourselves this morning?” Bucky asked curiously from his place beside her.

“We did, actually. Listened to a little more of your playlist. Talked a bit about music. I got him talking about his childhood - and yours, a bit - and told him a bit more about mine. We talked about food, too, then and now.” Bucky laughed, nodding. “He thinks I should get back in touch with Matt; he compared Matt to being for me what you were for Steve, when you were young.”

“He’s not wrong, doll. But I’ve told you that before.”

“Well, maybe if we end up moving up here I can look into it. Not sure there’s much point if we won’t be around at all.” 

Bucky sighed, but didn’t argue with her. It wasn’t worth undoing her relaxation over. But he wouldn’t just forget about it either. Instead, he changed the subject. “I got Tony talking a bit while he worked on my arm.”

Skye grinned. “That’s not hard, from what I’ve seen.”

Bucky returned her smile and shrugged. “No, not really. He was telling me about the suits. Skye… when I asked him about the Mark I, he got really tense and barely wanted to talk about it.”

“It was in the news,” Skye replied quietly. “He was kidnapped by terrorists in the Middle East who wanted him to build them weapons. He was injured, badly; enough that he had a magnet in his chest for a long time to keep shrapnel away from his heart.”

“That was all in the news?” Bucky asked skeptically.

“Well, no, not all of it. The rest was in his SHIELD file. But anyway, after that he built himself the first Iron Man suit. Even SHIELD never knew for sure how many of them he had. I do know that he made one for his friend, James Rhodes. It was called War Machine first, until someone in the government decided that was too threatening and changed it to Iron Patriot instead.”

Bucky snickered but nodded. “What I’m getting at, though… I think Tony might have PTSD. I recognized the look in his eyes; seen it in the mirror more than once, if I’m being honest.”

Skye tipped her head back to look up at him and almost dunked herself into the water. Bucky grabbed her shoulder and kept her head above the surface, shifting her so her head rested on his legs instead. She smiled at him as he ran his fingers through her wet hair. “Thanks. But in all seriousness, why hasn’t Steve or Pepper or someone else noticed?”

“I think they’ve seen Tony’s brash, outrageous attitude so much that they don’t realize what it’s covering. Also, I love Stevie. You know I do. But he’s never gone into a situation where his life or death was outside of his control. He chose to go down with that plane. He knew facing the Red Skull could kill him. And he made that choice.”

“But Tony was kidnapped, threatened, and forced to save himself. And maybe he never really dealt with that. Then he comes home, has to deal with an attempted takeover of his company, another terrorist organization after him, and then AIM kidnapping Pepper.” Skye sighed sadly.

“What did you do, memorize his SHIELD file?”

Skye blushed. “I always admired Tony, even before there was an Avengers team. He came out of a bad situation and decided to try to make the world a better place. I suppose you could say I was kind of a fangirl for a while. So yes… when I had access to his complete SHIELD file, I read a lot of it. More than once.”

Bucky just smiled fondly at Skye. “Must be great for you, then, to find out that he’s part of our soul bond.”

“It’s more than I ever dared to hope for, honestly. But somehow I got lucky enough to have my three personal heroes, not to mention actual heroes, as my soulmates.” Skye smiled brightly and watched Bucky blush this time. “I’ll be the most envied woman in the world, whenever we decide to go public. And possibly also the most hated. But I can live with that, as long as we’re all together. Now I just have to learn about the people behind the stories and reports.”

“You have time. We ain’t never gonna leave you behind, Skye. Of that you can be absolutely certain.”

“Good. Then back to someone else’s issues,” Skye said, deflecting away from her own fears. “You think we need to get help for Tony?”

Bucky shrugged. “I think we need to be supportive of him and maybe see if we can get him to admit that he needs help.” 

“If we can’t, maybe we can recruit Pepper or Clint to help. Clint has had his fair share of problems.” Skye commented idly, recalling other reports she’d found when SHIELD’s data went open.

“Natasha has, too,” Bucky said in a low voice. “It’s not all there, but I remember her a bit. From the Red Room.”

“I know she has; I didn’t read everything, but SHIELD had files on all the Avengers. There were a lot of notes from Coulson about his favorite duo; he was their handler, once. But anyway, I don’t think Nat and Tony have the kind of relationship that would make him comfortable confiding in her.”

“That’s… likely, I’d guess.” Bucky shrugged. “Well, we can try it ourselves first, yeah? We might be able to get him to talk about it. We’ve all started to share some of the painful things about our pasts. It will be his turn soon enough.”

“We can try. Maybe Sam can help, too; he’s likely to be here more while we get this orphan’s foundation off the ground.”

“Not a bad thought, doll. We’ll work on it a bit at a time, yeah?”

“Yeah. We’ll find a way.”


	6. A Near Death Experience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when Steve and Tony see Skye's gunshot scars?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much appreciation as always to NerdyKat for being a faithful beta!
> 
> This chapter re-caps a chunk of S1, from Skye's POV. Discussion of nearly-fatal injury, anger issues, and past trauma.

Skye and Bucky had gone back to swimming lazy laps around the pool by the time Steve and Tony found them. 

“Hey, guys. Mind if we join you?” Steve asked.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Bucky answered.

“It’s his pool, anyway,” Skye added flippantly. 

Tony just laughed and pulled his shirt off, leaving him in a pair of loose swim shorts. Skye had to try very hard not to lick her lips hungrily as first Tony’s then Steve’s shirts landed on a poolside chair. She quickly dunked herself underwater before she could make a spectacle of herself.

But damn.

Two splashes signaled their entry into the water and Skye quickly swam over to Bucky, tugging his ankles to dunk him too. He let her, she knew perfectly well, but it was all in good fun anyway.

Steve was laughing when she surfaced behind Bucky, and they all played in the pool for a while.

“God, I can’t remember the last time I went swimming for fun,” Skye said a little later. She draped an arm over the ledge of the pool for a bit of a breather. “Maybe that last summer at the orphanage. Matt dropped by to take me out for an afternoon. We had ice cream and everything.”

“Your suit fits remarkably well if you’ve had it since you were fifteen,” Tony said with an exaggerated leer. Skye just laughed.

“Agent training,” she explained. “May took me to the beach, made me learn to swim in the ocean. We didn’t want to stand out, so we got normal suits.”

“You look great in it,” Steve complimented. Bucky snickered and Tony rolled his eyes. “What? She does. It’s a really good color combination for her.” The suit was teal and purple, which Skye loved for the bright swirl of color. But she hadn’t really expected him to comment on the color of her suit, and she blushed a little.

“Come on, doll,” Bucky said, coming to her rescue. “We’ve been in here for hours. Probably should get out before more than our fingers and toes prune.”

“I guess so.” Skye glanced nervously at Steve and Tony before following Bucky to the ladder out of the pool. She caught the towel he tossed her and tried to quickly whip it around her body, but she could tell from the shocked gasp behind her that she was too late.

She suspected super speed was the only reason Steve beat Tony to her side. Her towel was gently tugged out of her hands and Steve’s eyes went ice cold as he carefully examined the scars on her belly.

“These are gunshot scars,” Steve said slowly, his voice low and fierce. “Is this why your mark greyed out for a few minutes? Oh, a year and a half ago, give or take a few months?”

Tony reached out, not quite touching the circular scars, then pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. “Fucking hell, Skye! We could have lost you before we ever even met you!” Steve’s arms joined Tony’s, holding them both.

“You can let me go,” Skye said, trying for calm since escape wasn’t an option. “I’m fine, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“How did it happen, Skye?” Steve’s question was demanding, angry. “Who pulled the trigger? They won’t live to do it again, that’s for damn sure.”

Skye scowled up at them until they loosened their grip. She pushed away, quickly wrapping herself in a towel and picking up another for her hair. “We are not having this conversation while I’m dripping wet and freezing! I didn’t die, you can calm the fuck down!”

“No, I don’t think we can. What happened, Skye?” Tony’s voice was steely, as hard and cold as his Iron Man suits.

“Not here,” she insisted, glaring fiercely.

Bucky stepped up, dropping towels onto Steve’s and Tony’s shoulders. “Our Skye’s clearly not comfortable with this, gents. Give her some space. She isn’t saying she won’t tell you, she’s saying that she’d rather be comfortable while she does.”

Tony frowned at Bucky and Steve swung around, snapping, “Do you know what happened?”

Skye rolled her eyes and turned away, heading for the elevator at a quick, angry pace. She pressed the door closure before anyone else could follow her.

“Yes, damnit,” Bucky hissed in response as soon as Skye was gone. “And I know she wasn’t going to keep it a fucking secret, but she wasn’t ready for you to find out like this!”

“Come on. We’d better go after her,” Steve said, tamping back on his anger with obvious effort.

\-----

Skye didn’t take the elevator straight to Tony’s floor, though. She stopped on Natasha’s first.

Upon opening the door, Clint took one look at her expression and pulled her inside. He shut the door behind her and wrapped her in a tight hug. “What’s wrong, darlin’?” he asked gently.

“Skye?” Natasha asked softly from the living room couch when Skye didn’t answer right away.

“Steve and Tony are pissed, and I’m rather annoyed with them at the moment,” Skye finally said. “I hoped stopping here would let me get dry and maybe dressed in peace; then you might as well come up with me so I can get everyone mad at the same time.”

“Whatever you need,” Natasha answered soothingly. “I’m assuming whatever you have to say, we’re not going to like either?” Skye shrugged and nodded. “Okay. Let’s find you some clothes. Clint, go upstairs and tell them I’ll bring Skye up when she’s dressed, and if they come down here before we come up I’ll kick their asses all the way back up there.”

“You got it, Tash,” Clint agreed. It was absolutely pointless to argue with Natasha in this mood, and Skye’s stony expression boded no better. 

As Skye requested, Natasha found her dry clothes and left her alone to dry off and change in peace. Warmer once she was dry, Skye sat on the bed for a few minutes of quiet, gearing herself up for the discussion to come. Though Andrew had helped her over the trauma of the experience, so she wasn’t likely to break down or have nasty flashbacks, no one was going to enjoy her story of how she almost died once.

“Shit.” With a sigh, Skye looked up towards the ceiling. “FRIDAY, can you make phone calls?”

“Yes, Miss Skye.”

“Secure calls?”

“Affirmative.”

“I need you to place a secure call for me.” She gave the AI the number and listened to it ring. One of the Koenigs picked up the call, as it was coming from an unknown source.

“Sam, it’s Skye,” she said.

“Verify identity, please.” Skye obediently gave him her access code and smiled when he took it. “How can I help you, Skye?”

“I need to speak to the Director. It’s important.”

“I’ll see if he’s available and put you through.”

“Thanks, Sam.” Skye waited patiently for Coulson to pick up.

“Skye? Everything alright?” He sounded concerned, but not overly so.

Skye sighed. “Well, mostly. DC, I need your permission to tell my soulmates about Quinn and the Guest House.”

“What happened?”

“They saw my scars. I can’t lie to them about what happened, and we both know I should have died…” Her voice was soft, regretful. She hated reminding him of those painful days; it was at least as bad as remembering for herself. At least a lot of her memories were hazy and pain-fogged.

Coulson was quiet for a minute, then sighed softly. “Go ahead, Skye. I trust your judgment. Try to keep them from doing anything drastic, though? If you can?”

“I’ll do my best. Did May tell you that Romanoff and Barton are here too?”

“She did, and you might as well tell them too. Get it all over with at once, Skye, if that’s what you want.”

“They’ve both been really great since I got here. Clint and I kinda bonded over being orphans.”

“And Natasha has a pretty strong protective streak. It’s alright, Skye. Try to keep the Avengers from… Avenging. If you can. If you can’t… well, try to give me a heads up so we can at least have a cleanup crew on standby.”

Skye chuckled, though it was dark and lacking in real humor. “I’ll do my best, DC.”

“Good luck, Skye.”

“Thanks. See you at the end of the week?”

“Probably Monday. But yes, we’ll see you soon.”

“Okay. Bye.”

“Call disconnected,” FRIDAY intoned. 

“Can you erase the record of it, please?” 

“Negative.”

“Security lock it, then, please. I’ll take care of it later.”

“Understood. Recording locked.”

With a sigh, Skye got to her feet and went to rejoin Natasha. “Sorry for the wait. We’d probably better get up there before they decide to risk your temper.”

“Sure,” Natasha agreed, getting up smoothly. “Are you alright, Skye?”

Skye shrugged. “No, but this is something I need to do. By the time we’re done, I’m pretty sure no one’s going to be okay. I just hope to get through it without any major damage.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow but just nodded acceptance as they got into the elevator and went up.

The atmosphere in the living room was tense when the two women arrived. Bucky sat calmly on one of the couches, Steve by his side attempting to mimic his calm but less successfully. Tony paced near the windows, while Clint perched on the back of a chair, set between the others and the elevator.

Natasha moved to sit in the chair Clint was perched on. Skye took a deep breath and moved into the room, choosing a seat on her own rather than with anyone else. “I really only want to have to go through this once. So I would really appreciate it if you could try not to interrupt; it’s going to be hard enough to get through without bursts of temper. Okay?”

“Take your time, doll,” Bucky said encouragingly.

“That’s easy for you to say,” Tony muttered. “You know what happened.”

“James knows the basic version, yes,” Skye said, shooting a glare at Tony. “But I’ve been given permission to tell you all the whole story, or at least as much of it as I think we can handle.”

“We?” Tony asked.

“Yes, we. You don’t think this is going to be easy on me, either, do you?” Tony looked abashed for a moment, then shrugged and looked away. “It’s not. What I’m about to tell you is one of my most painful mistakes. For more than just me.”

“What’s all this about, Skye?” Natasha asked; she and Clint wore slightly puzzled expressions.

“When we got out of the pool, Steve and Tony saw my scars. If I’m going to explain how it happened, I really only want to have to do this once.”

“We all have scars, kiddo,” Clint began, but he stopped when he saw Bucky shake his head and Steve’s fists clench. “That bad?”

Rather than explain, Skye tugged up the hem of the shirt Natasha loaned her. Clint’s expression hardened and Natasha’s went notably blank as they made the same assessment as everyone else. She shouldn’t have survived that.

Hiding the evidence again, Skye sat back with a sigh. “We were on a mission in Italy, tracking a package of note belonging to a company called Cybertek. We believed they were connected to the Clairvoyant who had been hounding us for a couple of months. Anyway, our team of six split into pairs to infiltrate the train carrying the package.” She briefly described the mission setup, and how only she and Fitz managed to get off the train and follow the package to its destination. Explained the thought process behind going in herself, even though she wasn’t even an Agent yet.

Tony frowned and Steve hissed in a breath, but neither spoke. Natasha just nodded, understanding that sometimes the objective justified the risk. Almost any risk.

“When the people I followed left the room empty, I slipped inside. The package was on a table, but there was something else. A cryogenic chamber, holding a friend of mine. Mike Peterson, the most recent Deathlok. I was discovered, though, when the Clairvoyant’s agent returned.” Skye’s eyes turned dark, remembering everything so clearly. “He opened the chamber, and let Mike out. The package was a cybernetic leg to replace the one he’d lost in an explosion. They were also controlling him, through a cybernetic eye implant that sent him messages he could read and could end him with an implanted kill switch.”

Skye’s hands curled into fists and she kept her eyes on either Bucky or Natasha, as they were the two with the most outward calm. She needed that calm if she was going to keep talking. “The agent tried to get Mike to kill me; I could tell Mike didn’t want to, but he simply said that those weren’t his orders. He had other things to do. And he left us down there, just the two of us. I started to follow, when the agent pulled out a gun and shot me once. I couldn’t move, could hardly breathe, as he came closer. He told me softly that he had orders too, and pulled the trigger a second time.” Her nails were cutting into her palms; she could feel the skin breaking and blood starting to seep through her skin, but she couldn’t stop. 

She needed something in the here and now to focus on.

“I think I blacked out for a minute, because the next thing I remember is being alone. I tried to drag myself across the floor to the doorway, tried to call for help. I’m told that Coulson found me first, though by that point I was too far gone to know for myself. The rest of my team had finally made it. They put me into the cryo chamber, trying to stabilize me enough to get to a hospital. But even the Trauma Center in Zurich couldn’t help. So Coulson took the Bus off the grid. Seeking out the one thing that might save my life: the drug that restored his.”

Even Natasha couldn’t completely smother her gasp and Clint’s eyes took on a new depth of pain. Skye pushed forward, though, trying to keep her own pain in check. “I can’t tell you much about what happened, only that eventually they found it. It was an experimental drug, derived from an alien source. It had been going through testing, originally under Coulson’s oversight actually. But he recommended it be discontinued, because of the trauma it caused people.”

“Trauma?” Clint asked, his voice tight. Skye looked at him and he gestured apologetically, but she just nodded.

“That’s not really my story to tell; if you really want to know, you can ask Coulson when he comes here. I don’t know if he’ll want to talk about it, but…” Clint nodded his acceptance and Skye smiled tightly in thanks.

“Skye, doll, stop for a minute,” Bucky interrupted gently before Skye could resume speaking. When she shot him a glance he shrugged and looked pointedly at the traces of red around her fingers, where her fists still sat in her lap. “Relax a minute before you hurt yourself seriously.”

Skye glanced down at her hands and slowly forced herself to uncurl them. She hissed in surprise at the amount of pain involved in removing her nails from her skin. Before she could move, though, Clint was at her side with a first aid kit. “Let me, darlin’.”

She held out her hands and sat quietly, breathing deeply while Clint wiped away the blood and bandaged her hands, just to prevent her from doing it again. “Thank you,” she said in a low voice when he finished.

“Anytime,” he answered with a ghost of a smile.

“Back up a minute,” Tony said before Skye could resume her explanation. “You said this drug was of alien origin.” Skye nodded. “Alien like Thor, or alien like the Chitauri?”

“Neither, though closer to Thor than the other. They’re humanoid, at least.” She didn’t really want to get into discussing the Kree until Thor was around. 

“You know what they are?” Steve asked.

“Yes, though we don’t know much about them. If the opportunity arises, we may be able to ask Thor. Though it’s my understanding that the Asgardians don’t trust them, either.”

“Why weren’t you affected adversely by the drug?” Natasha asked in a low voice. “Just due to the time involved?”

Skye shook her head. “We don’t have an answer to that, at least not fully. I can tell you what we suspect, but that’s a much bigger story and not one I want to try to tell tonight.”

Natasha sighed but accepted it with a nod. “But you are alright?”

“I’m completely stable, with no side effects or any other problems. And it has been well beyond the point where anyone else began to have trouble.”

“Good.”

“Is there still more to the story?” Steve asked after a moment. 

“Only a little, and the rest is a bit easier,” Skye said as she sat back in her chair. “You remember I said that the agent had orders?” Everyone nodded. “Coulson and I figured out that the Clairvoyant wasn’t a real psychic. He was a SHIELD Agent, with a fairly high security clearance. But there was one secret he couldn’t learn…”

“How Phil came back from the dead,” Clint said with a frown. “Something we weren’t even told about up front.”

“No one was. The file was Level 10 only. May told me you had to be at least Level 7 to even be allowed to know Coulson was alive, and not even all of them knew. We figured out who the Clairvoyant was the same day that HYDRA came out of the shadows. But, of course, by then it was too late. Anyway, the Clairvoyant wanted the secret behind Coulson’s recovery. So he put Coulson in the position of figuring it out, so he could take it for himself.”

“Who?” Natasha’s voice was icy.

Skye smiled a little, a brittle smile full of pain and anger. “John Garrett. The SO of my first SO. The original Deathlok, part of HYDRA. And also entirely dead.”

“You’re sure about that?” Natasha asked.

“Oh, yes. Mike Peterson killed him, and when it looked like he might be regenerating anyway somehow, Coulson blew him to bits with this huge freaking gun. He’s gone, trust me.”

“What about the agent that pulled the trigger?” Tony asked, his voice sharp and full of barely suppressed fury. Both Steve and Bucky looked at Skye as well, clearly wanting an answer.

Skye sighed. “I don’t know. He was in the Fridge when HYDRA took it. We think he might have been working for Garrett after that. But he has pretty much vanished; I expect because he knows there are likely several people who want his head on a platter.”

“His name, Skye?” Steve asked, though it was just barely a question.

“What are you going to do if I tell you?”

“We’re going to fucking well make sure he can never hurt anyone else again, doll,” Bucky said with a low growl of anger in his voice. He had kept his temper better than Skye expected, but she was pretty sure that if she told them now while all three of her soulmates were just this side of control, all bets would be off.

And while she wanted Quinn dead as much as the next person, Coulson had asked her to keep the Avengers from Avenging if she could.

So she shook her head. “I’m not going to tell you right now. Not while you’re this angry. Be mad at me if you want, but right now I kinda need you here with me and not off somewhere causing a bloodbath.” Skye bit her lip, feeling her hands starting to shake with reaction. No, wait, was that her power leaking out? She forced herself to try breathe deeply, reciting May’s meditation mantra under her breath while she waited for the outburst from her listeners.

An outburst that didn’t occur.

“Relax, Skye, just keep breathing.” Clint moved first, catching her hands gently and noticing that they were cold. “Tash, grab that blanket. She’s a little shocky.”

Natasha complied, and Bucky quickly moved off the couch so they could lay Skye down on it. Steve shifted to cradle her head in his lap while Natasha grabbed a throw pillow to settle under Skye’s feet before covering her with the blanket. Tony perched on the coffee table in front of Steve and next to Skye, catching her hand gently once Natasha and Clint backed away again to give her some space. 

“I’m alright,” Skye protested. “Really, I’m fine.”

“I’m not sure anyone could be fine after that, sweetheart,” Tony said in a surprisingly gentle voice, his anger tempered for the moment by concern. “And we haven’t helped any, I’m sure.”

Before Skye could answer, Natasha leaned over the back of the couch and touched Skye’s cheek. “We’re going to go. You’ve had enough for one day. But we’ll be right downstairs if you need us, okay? And stay on that couch for at least another twenty minutes.”

Skye nodded and tried to smile, and the two spies were swiftly gone. Skye looked up at Steve, seeing his concern for her in his eyes. But she could also still sense his fury, simmering beneath. A glance at Bucky showed a very similar expression, and Skye just sighed. “James?”

“What’s up, doll?”

“I need you to take Steve and go down to the gym or something. Burn off some of that anger, both of you. It’s… too much for me right now. Please.” 

When both super-soldiers hesitated, Tony nodded his agreement. “Go on, I’ll stay with her. Not all of us need to hit something to deal with our tempers. Just try to stick to minimal damage to each other, yeah?”

“Alright, we’ll go,” Steve finally agreed in a low tone. “But you call if you need us, you hear?”

“We will,” Skye agreed. So Tony and Steve traded places, Tony cradling Skye’s slowly warming body in his lap as they were left alone. “Thank you,” she murmured, pressing her cheek into his hip lightly.

“For what, sweetheart?” 

“Staying with me. Understanding that everyone’s anger was too much to take.”

“Oh, I’m still plenty angry,” he protested.

Skye smiled a little. “I know. But you don’t radiate it the way they do.”

“What are you, some kind of empath?” The question was meant to come out flippant, but somehow the words became more serious as he spoke them.

“Not in the manner you’re suggesting, no,” she quickly explained. “But I’ve always been a people person, and I can usually read other people pretty easily. These days… well, you’ve heard the phrase ‘buzzing with anger’ right?” Tony nodded. “Because my power affects vibrations, I can feel or kind of sense them. In everything, including people.”

“I get that, I think. You have to know what you’re affecting. And Pepper does the people reading thing too, sometimes.” Skye just nodded. “Are you alright, Skye? Really?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I might have a couple of nightmares tonight, but no crazy trauma or flashbacks or anything. I’ve already been through all of this with my therapist.” Skye studied Tony’s expression as she answered him and saw him flinch at the mention of flashbacks. “What about you, Tony? Are you alright?”

“Other than pissed as hell?” She smiled a little and nodded. “Somehow I don’t think you’ll believe me if I say I’m fine.”

“You’re right, I won’t. You want to talk about it?”

Tony looked skeptically at her. “I don’t think you can handle much more tonight.”

“I’m stronger than I look.”

“Of that, I have no doubt.” Tony cracked a grin for a moment, then sobered again. “No, I don’t want to talk about it. At least,” he added when he saw her take on a look of concern and determination, “not tonight. Maybe another time.”

“Alright, Tony,” Skye said softly, backing down. “But if you need me, I’m here. Andrew - my therapist - made me realize that sometimes we can’t handle everything ourselves. I had huge hangups about talking to a shrink; none of the ones at the orphanage were ever useful. But sometimes there are just some things we can’t get over without a bit of help.”

Tony looked like he was giving the idea some serious thought, so Skye stopped talking and enjoyed the quiet comfort of his presence while she meditated herself back into full control.


	7. Who's Your Plus-One?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some quieter times for our quartet. Thor comes to visit, and news is shared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A third chapter in a week! But I won't likely be on much the next few days, as my birthday is Monday. You can probably look for the next update on Tuesday.
> 
> Also a big thank you to everyone who has left me kudos and comments. I've gotten comments from several new readers on this story, and I want you to know that I appreciate them all!

No one really felt like more talking when Steve and Bucky returned from the gym. Tony had ordered them pizza in the meantime, and rather than letting them all sit and eat in silence Skye picked up the remote and put the original  _ Ghostbusters _ on the tv. 

Tony raised an eyebrow at her choice, and she shrugged. “It’s silly. Brainless fun. We could all use some of that, I think.”

Skye fell asleep shortly after they started the second movie. The three men briefly discussed moving her to one of the bedrooms, but they really all wanted to stay with her. So they stayed put; Steve and Bucky crashed towards the end of the film, which was really too bad - Tony thought Steve would be highly amused at seeing the Statue of Liberty walking around New York. They’d have to watch it again sometime.

He turned off the movie and called up some of his projects, intending to work rather than sleep. Someone needed to be awake, just in case Skye’s prediction of nightmares came true. And he’d rather avoid any of his own, if possible; exhaustion would help with that.

So Tony was still awake when first Bucky then Steve woke quietly. Tony’s attention was entirely on Skye; he’d abandoned his work some time ago, though the diagrams still hung in the air. Instead, he perched on the edge of the couch where she slept, her hand in his and his free hand gently caressing her cheek. He hadn’t been able to move since his gentle touch soothed her out of her last nightmare.

Steve blinked at Tony and opened his mouth, noticing traces of tears on Tony’s face. Tony didn’t cry; he usually never even admitted he was sad. So this behavior was beyond strange. But before anyone said anything, Tony caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. He just nodded to where Skye, peaceful for the moment, still slept and then towards the kitchen.

“Tony?” Steve asked in a low voice when they had a wall to muffle their voices from Skye. The older man looked exhausted, dark circles under his eyes. Tony scrubbed his face with his hands and sighed softly.

“She didn’t sleep well last night,” Tony said, his voice soft and worried. 

“So you stayed up with her?” Steve asked, moving close to rest his hand on Tony’s arm. Tony just nodded. “You could’ve said something… we would have taken turns, if that’s what it took.”

“No, I wanted to,” Tony demurred. “I work better at night, anyways, Cap. You know I do.”

“And it’s easier to deal with her nightmares than your own?” Bucky asked; unlike Steve, he kept a bit of distance. No point in crowding anyone.

The last thing they needed was to set someone else off.

Tony looked sharply at Bucky, who just shrugged. “How does she deal with this?” he asked Bucky. “She seemed more bothered by how her story affected us, when she’s the one who almost died.”

“She had help. She survived it, she faced what happened to her, and she learned to leave it in the past.” Bucky leaned against the counter and folded his arms, watching the others. Now that he was over the heavy flash of anger, he realized that dwelling on what happened would only hurt Skye more in the long run. So as he had to do with most of his own past, he set aside the anger to focus on what was important.

“She seems so… together,” Steve ventured. “She reminds me of Natasha, that way.”

“It’s the SHIELD training,” Tony commended, pulling himself together a bit. “All the ones I’ve met are like that.”

“That’s part of it,” Bucky acknowledged. “But if you haven’t figured it out yet, Skye is always,  _ always _ gonna put the well being of others ahead of her own. It’s just the way she’s made, and her childhood reinforced that. And if you try to stop her she’ll find a way to work around you and do it anyway.”

“You know who she reminds me of?” Tony said suddenly. “Aunt Peggy. I mean, they look nothing alike and their backgrounds are completely different. But they both have that ‘do whatever it takes’ mentality.”

“See, Stevie, you do have a type,” Bucky said, his teasing tone lightening the tension. “Determined, kickass women who will fight beside you but never let you fight for them.”

“Shut up, Jerk.”

“Punk.”

“You guys are terrible at subtlety,” Skye’s sleepy voice broke into the conversation as she paused, barefoot, in the kitchen doorway. “But I woke up to a pretty nice compliment, so I’ll take it. Jemma’s gonna be so jealous.”

“Why’s that, sweetheart?” Tony asked, his demeanor softening at her presence. He told himself it was just fatigue getting the best of him, but even he didn’t really believe it.

“Because Peggy Carter is her idol.” She stepped further into the kitchen, smiling a little. “You guys seem better this morning.” Her sharp eyes met Tony’s and made note of the slight redness and dark circles under his eyes. “Everybody okay?”

“Yeah. Buck and I were gonna get ready for our run. And Tony…”

“Was headed to bed soon.”

Skye nodded. “I could use a couple more hours, myself. Would you rest better with company?”

“I… maybe,” Tony hedged. “If you want…”

“I’ve spent far more years of my life sleeping with the sounds of other people nearby than I have alone. It’s… comforting,” she said, giving him an easy out.

“Come on, then. Steve and Bucky can tuck us in before they head out.”

\-----

Tony woke up with Skye still in his bed; she sat up against the headboard reading something on a tablet, while his head pillowed on her thigh and his arms wrapped around her knees. Her fingers brushed idly over his forehead and into his hair in a soothing manner, and he wondered how long she’d been sitting there.

“Hey,” she greeted him softly when she realized he was awake.

“Hey,” he responded in a voice still rough from sleep.

“Sleep well?”

“Better than I expected to. How long..?”

“About five hours.”

“And you’ve been just sitting here all this time?”

Skye grinned. “No, I slept for about half that.”

“You didn’t have to stay.”

“I didn’t mind. You watched over me, Tony…”

“You knew?”

“I kinda half-woke a couple of times. I was aware that you were close by, and I could tell this morning that you hardly slept, if at all.”

“You’re a very perceptive woman, Skyenet.” She giggled at the nickname and just shrugged. He untangled himself from her and rolled onto his back, stretching. “What would you think of having the rest of the Avengers over for the weekend? We haven’t had a team bonding party in a couple of months, and you can meet the others socially.”

“Could be fun. Coulson and some of the others from my team expect to be here Monday.”

“That could get interesting. But it’s fine with me.”

“Tell Thor he can bring his girlfriend? I’d like to meet her, and it’d be nice to have more ladies around than just Nat, Pepper and I.”

“Sure thing, sweetheart.”

\-----

Friday evening saw the quartet down in the big, open lounge area with Clint, Natasha, Sam, and Pepper. They were chatting happily while waiting for Thor’s party to arrive; Wanda had declined to join them, as had Vision. They were still out at the new Avengers’ facility upstate.

Thor strode into the room accompanied by a hum of electricity that Skye noticed immediately. Two petite women followed him, both dark haired; one in a short skirt and body-hugging sweater, the other in a more modest skirt and a button-down shirt. 

The more modest of the two immediately turned to the other. “See, Darcy? I could’ve worn jeans after all!” She pointed at Skye, who was wearing a hip-hugging pair of trendy jeans and a cute blouse after declaring the evening casual.

“But Jane, you look so good all done up in proper lady-clothes!” Darcy wheedled.

Skye got up with a laugh and went over to meet the two women. “Hi, I’m Skye. And you both look great; not that we don’t all look under-dressed beside Pepper and Natasha,” she added with a note of teasing in her tone.

Jane flushed and held out her hand. “I’m Jane Foster, and this is my friend-”

“And former intern!” Darcy interrupted.

“-Darcy Lewis,” Jane finished with a sidelong glance at the other woman. Darcy just smiled unapologetically.

“Nice to meet you,” Skye said, shaking first Jane’s hand and then Darcy’s. “And thanks for coming. It’s nice to even up the odds in here, a bit.”

“I thought this was an Avengers-and-partners gig,” Darcy said curiously. “How’d you end up here?”

Skye just grinned. “Soulmate.”

“Ooh!” Darcy’s eyes went wide. “So who’s your plus-one?”

Before Skye could answer, Steve waved her over. “Skye, come meet Thor.”

Darcy trailed after Skye, pulling Jane along with her. Not that it was overly difficult to get Jane to wherever Thor was.

“Ladies,” Steve said, nodding politely to Darcy and Jane while reaching for Skye’s hand. “Thor, we’d like you to meet Skye. Our soulmate.”

“‘Our?’” Darcy said, blinking.

Thor ignored the question, taking Skye’s hand and bowing over it. “Lady Skye. It is an honor to meet the soul-bonded mate of my Midgardian friends.”

Skye’s knees dipped in a polite curtsy as Thor rose to his full height. “Prince Thor. It’s an honor to meet you as well.” Her eyes twinkled in amusement as everyone except Natasha and Pepper seemed startled by her formal manners. Natasha smirked and Pepper just smiled.

“So tall, blonde and patriotic is your soulmate?” Darcy broke in, shattering the moment.

“One of them, yes,” Skye said easily.

“You have more than one?” Jane’s eyes went wide with curiosity. “That’s extremely rare, you know. Statistically less than two percent of the population with a soulmate - and only about twenty percent of our population has a mark - has more than one.”

Skye blushed a little, not sure what to say all of a sudden. Steve’s hand settled on her shoulder, though, and he smiled at her supportively. “Yes,” she finally managed to say. “I have three, total.”

“You are most fortunate to have many souls connected to yours,” Thor said solemnly.

“Yeah, I really am,” Skye agreed. She felt Tony and Bucky join her, Bucky’s solid presence at her back and Tony on her other side. “I’m sure you know Steve and Tony,” she continued easily; even if they hadn’t met, everyone knew who they were. “James is behind me. And this is my trio of soulmates.”

“No fucking way!” Darcy exclaimed, though she looked more excited than offended. “You get all that salty goodness, girl?”

It was Steve’s turn to blush and Bucky ducked behind Skye just a bit more. Only Tony took the comment in stride, laughing it off. “We’ve only all been together about a week. Give it time.”

“Says the world’s biggest playboy,” Darcy quipped.

“Nobody in their right mind plays with their soulmates,” Tony fired right back. “A lot of people think I’m crazy, but no one in the world ever called me stupid.”

Darcy seemed to consider that for a moment, then nodded. She held her hand out forthrightly, and Tony shook it. “Darcy Lewis. Nice to meet you, Mr. Stark.”

“Tony, please, Miss Lewis. We’re all friends here.”

Introductions continued around the room between people who hadn’t met previously; it didn’t take long for the group to settle in comfortably, everyone with their choice of beverage. Smaller conversations sprung up around the room as everyone got to know each other a little better.

A couple of drinks in, Darcy plopped herself down in the chair next to Skye’s. She looked at Bucky, who sat on the arm of Skye’s chair, and pouted cutely at him. “Can I steal your girl for a little bit? Nothing serious, just a bit of girl talk.”

Bucky grinned, shaking his head a bit. “How can I say no to that pout? I’ll go catch up with Natasha for a bit.”

“Sure,” Skye agreed. Bucky kissed the top of her head lightly before getting up and wandering towards the bar. Skye turned her attention to Darcy. “What’s up?”

Darcy shrugged. “I just wanted to talk a bit. I mean, seriously, you have the relationship of the century!”

Skye just laughed. “I suppose I might. I’m really incredibly lucky.”

“How’d you work it out?” 

Skye shrugged a little. “Well, from what I know Steve and Tony have basically been together since Steve was found.”

“They did a pretty amazing job of keeping it quiet,” Darcy said thoughtfully. “Half the world thinks Tony and Pepper are…”

“Oh, I know. Pepper has her own soulmate, though, and they’ve been willing to cover for Tony to keep the media at bay. We know we’ll have to go public at some point, but we want a chance to build something for ourselves first. You know?”

“Oh, yeah, I get that. Totally.” Skye caught Darcy slanting a fond glance at where Thor stood with his arm around Jane.

“Are you three..?” Skye began delicately, wondering if the look meant what she thought it did.

“Yeah. We’re not soulmates or anything. Jane and I are unmarked, and Asgardian soulbonds don’t work the same way. But… well, it’s kind of a thing.”

“No judgment from me,” Skye said with a smile. “If you’re all happy, that’s the most important thing. I grew up with three soulmarks, remember. The last thing I’m going to do is poke holes in someone else’s relationship.”

Darcy’s smile was relieved. “Thanks, girlfriend. For a long time, I didn’t think there’d be room for me with them. It was kind of a big deal. But…”

“Sometimes things just work themselves out,” Skye agreed. “But back to your question, I met James while working, actually.”

“Working? Oh, wait, do you work with those suits?” Darcy asked with an arched brow.

“Suits? Oh. Yeah, I suppose I do. Though not a lot of people wear the snappy suits since DC. Only the Director still does, really.”

“So you’re an Agent. Cool.”

Skye decided it was better to just let that one go. “We were on a mission, and James as being held in the same facility as a friend of mine. So when we went in, we brought them both out. Shit goes down, and by the time we have some breathing room James and I have had a chance to compare soul marks and realize that our other two match. And even better, James knows who one of them is.”

“Really? How did he know that?”

Skye blinked; then she realized that though James Buchanan Barnes was a WW2 hero, that was a long time ago and not everyone idolized the Howlies the way she had as a kid. But since the only people in the room that she wasn’t sure had identified James were Darcy, Jane and Thor, she figured she probably should just say so. “Because James is Bucky Barnes,” she said softly.

“No fucking way!” Darcy screeched. “Jane! Janey, get over here! Now!” Suddenly every eye in the room was on Darcy and Skye. Jane hurried over, looking alarmed.

“What is it, Darce? What’s wrong?”

“She’s messing with my head, right? Did you recognize her James?”

Jane blinked uncomprehendingly at Darcy for a long minute. “Well, not at first, but it wasn’t hard to put together. He’s James Barnes, isn’t he?” Skye just nodded and Jane looked at Darcy again. “So what?”

“So what? He’s supposed to have died over seventy years ago!”

Skye hid her face in her hands, wishing that she hadn’t said anything at all.

“Everyone thought Steve was dead too,” Jane said calmly. “Darcy, you had to have noticed his arm. Don’t tell me you didn’t make the connection to the soldier fighting against Steve in DC. I made some guesses, but I wasn’t going to be rude enough to ask about it. It’s not really our business.”

Skye abruptly pushed herself out of her chair. She made a beeline for Bucky and smiled sadly when he wrapped his arms around her. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know this was gonna happen,” she told him softly.

“Shh, doll. It’s alright.” He just held her for a moment, pretending the rest of the room didn’t exist. “I didn’t expect this here, but we knew my reappearance was going to make waves when word got out.”

“Not our business?” Darcy was saying. “Thor works with them, they invited us here to visit. I’d say that makes it our business!”

“But it’s not our place to judge,” Thor interjected, resting a hand on Darcy’s shoulder. “Be at ease, my lady. Our friends would not invite us here if we were in danger of harm, nor will I allow anything to harm you.”

Darcy leaned into Thor, letting his assurance and Jane’s calm affect her too. She flushed when she realized that the entire party had been witness to the scene she caused and was suddenly glad the group was so small. “You’re right,” she said quietly. “You’re both right.”

Straightening up, Darcy walked over to Skye and Bucky. Bucky watched her warily but didn’t move. Skye twisted around in Bucky’s arms but otherwise stayed where she was. “I’m sorry,” Darcy said forthrightly. “I overreacted, and I apologize. To you both.”

Bucky studied her, assessing her sincerity before nodding slowly. “Accepted,” he said in a low voice.

“It’s… well, it’s not alright. But we understand, I think,” Skye said hesitantly.

“Still friends?” Darcy asked hopefully and smiled when Skye nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Thank you. I’d really like to talk some more, but I’m gonna go hang with Janey for a bit. Her calm is kind contagious sometimes, you know?”

“That much, I definitely understand.”

“Cool. No rush, anyway. We’ve got all weekend to talk and hang out and whatever.” Darcy smiled again and wandered back towards Jane, who looped an arm around her waist absently while resuming her interrupted discussion with Tony.

“You two alright?” Steve asked as he joined Skye and Bucky.

“Yeah,” Skye answered as she slowly relaxed. “I didn’t expect a blow up in a group of friends, but we knew our relationship was going to cause storms. Maybe we’ll be lucky and they’ll all blow over as easily.”

Steve chuckled and nodded. “I doubt it, but we can hope.”

Clint joined them a short time later and managed to distract both Skye and Bucky with a discussion about whether bows or guns were better for sniping. Steve left them to it and after a while, Skye also walked away leaving Bucky and Clint to their debate.

Thor approached Skye cautiously as she went to the bar for another drink. “Lady Skye,” he said politely.

“Prince Thor,” she responded.

“Titles are unnecessary between friends, at least here; friend Stark has told me this many times.”

Skye just smirked. “Yet you keep calling me Lady Skye.”

Thor broke into a smile and chuckled, more at himself than anything else. “Perhaps old habits truly are more difficult to break. I mean no disrespect.”

“I won’t feel disrespected if you just call me Skye. I promise.”

Thor bowed his head to her. “As you wish, Skye.” When she smiled, he smiled in return. “May I ask a question?”

“Sure.”

“All my Midgardian friends have two names. Anthony Stark. Jane Foster. Darcy Lewis. Yet you only gave one.”

“And you want to know why?” Thor nodded. “Well, first things first. You understand that a person’s second name or surname comes from their family, right? Jane’s family name is Foster; her parents were Mr. and Mrs. Foster. Her father’s parents would also have been Mr. and Mrs. Foster. With me so far?”

“Of course, though I am more familiar with names that indicate who one’s father was. I am Thor Odinson. My father would be Odin Borson.”

Skye nodded. “We stopped using that nomenclature when our societies got too large. It was easier to trace family lines when the family name remained the same from generation to generation.” It was a major oversimplification, but it would be enough to answer his question. She hoped.

“Very well. And you?”

“I’m an orphan. No one knew my name when I was left at the orphanage as a baby; the nuns - religious women who care for the orphaned children - did give me a name, but it was terrible and I don’t accept it as mine. Skye is what I named myself, but since no family claims me I claim no family.”

Thor looked shocked. “Is this how parentless children are treated on Midgard? What of those whose parents were lost fighting wars?”

“It’s not a good system,” Skye agreed with a sigh. “If a child loses their parents, under any circumstances, first we look for their next of kin. Aunts, uncles, grandparents. If they have family still living, often times those family members will take in the child. It’s best for the child, and usually the family agrees.” Thor nodded his agreement with this; it made sense to him. 

“If the child has no living family, or their family cannot be identified, they are placed in a children’s shelter called an orphanage. People work for that shelter and try to find the children a home. Sometimes couples can’t have children of their own, so they adopt and the child becomes permanently theirs. Other people volunteer to become foster families, agreeing to look after orphaned children for a shorter period of time. Unfortunately, some of those families aren’t really qualified to handle the children in their care, or they do it because our government provides them with additional money to care for children not their own. These children are often neglected, not cared for properly. Sometimes orphaned children have problems or don’t fit well with a foster family, so they’re sent back to the orphanage.”

“This seems a most unsuitable system for the children with no living kin. This is not what we do on Asgard.”

Skye smiled invitingly. “So tell me about Asgard’s system, then?”

“If a child is orphaned and has no family remaining, it is the responsibility of the community to care for them. They are provided for by the community as a whole until they are old enough to be apprenticed to a trade. Then their trades-master continues their care and education until they are capable of practicing that trade on their own. Many become warriors or guardsmen, others crafters or merchants.”

“It sounds like a good system, though I’m not entirely sure how well it would work here. We have an extremely large population, and accidents happen a lot. Do the children on Asgard have a choice about the trade they learn?”

“Of course. They speak to several potential masters and are allowed to choose which they would prefer.” Thor rested a hand on Skye’s arm in a friendly manner. “I am sorry to hear that you did not have a family growing up. It grieves me that a friend may have been so alone.”

“Thank you, Thor,” Skye said, genuinely touched. “It’s alright. I have a family now, just that it’s one I chose for myself.” 

“This is a good thing. And now you also have your soulmates, to help make certain you are always loved. I wish you much joy, Lady Skye.”

“And I wish you much joy, Prince Thor,” she responded. “I hope you, Jane and Darcy are always happy together.”

“As do I.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was meant to be a little lighter. I hope it's enough to carry you over til the next time!


	8. Tell Me About Terrigenesis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pretty much what the chapter title suggests.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NerdyKat is still an awesome beta!

The next morning was quiet, as several people nursed hangovers. Skye was not one of them; she hadn’t dared get drunk since she got her powers. She wasn’t certain of her ability to control them under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and she wasn’t willing to take chances - especially in a city as big as New York.

That afternoon, it was Skye’s turn to approach Thor. The group was mostly milling about, chatting in small groups or otherwise passing the time amicably. Her soulmates knew what she had in mind, so they were nearby but not enough so as to seem intrusive.

“Prince Thor?”

Thor looked up and smiled. “Is there something I may help you with, Lady Skye?”

“Yes, I think there may be.” She settled into a chair across the table from him and folded her hands on the tabletop. “Will you tell me what you know about the Kree Terrigenesis project, please?”

Thor frowned. “How do you even know of such a thing? Terrigenesis happened many thousands of years ago by your reckoning.”

“It’s a long story, and I will tell you after you tell me about Terrigenesis.”

“Very well. You must understand that Kree are a strict, militaristic people often at war with those around them. Three or four millennia ago, during one of these wars, the Kree suffered high casualties. They became more desperate, seeking a way to prevail for that is how their society has always been. They work to dominate other worlds, other races. In their desperation one faction of their race conceived of the Terrigenesis project; an attempt to manipulate the fundamental components of other races and transform them into living weapons. They experimented on various races, but none is known to have had any success.”

As Thor spoke, the rest of the group edged closer until they were sitting or standing nearby and listening to Thor’s explanation. 

“According to what I have studied, these experiments required a catalyst, Terrigen, to activate the modifications. Their goal was to produce powers and abilities that could be weaponized. Many of those so victimized had to be destroyed, for the safety of others, as those that did manifest powers could not be controlled. Not even by the person producing the power. Others simply died during the transformation process, and perhaps that was kinder for them.”

Skye frowned, nodding. “Suppose in theory, one of those transformed by Terrigen were able to maintain their sanity and control their power. What would Asgard do about them? Has anyone ever considered it?”

It was Thor’s turn to frown. “Should such an individual exist, assuming that they posed no threat to the Nine Realms, I believe they would be allowed to live out their lives. They might be watched for a time, but...”

“And if it were more than one?”

“Lady Skye, what are you suggesting?”

“What I’m going to tell you may not be something you want to hear. But will you hear me out, please?”

“I give you my word,” Thor intoned seriously.

“Some of this I have been told, and some I have read from translations of historical accounts and journals that go back thousands of generations. A very long time ago, beings that legend describes as ‘blue angels’ came down from the sky. They built themselves a city here on Earth, and chose people deemed worthy to grant blessings to,” Skye began the story; everyone listened, fascinated, probably because it was entirely unknown to all of them.

“We now know that these beings weren’t angels, but Kree. They chose people from Earth for their experiments with Terrigenesis. And they were successful.” Thor sucked in a breath, but held his peace, as Skye indicated that she wasn’t done. “A few of these early people were able to gain control of their powers. Eventually the Kree were driven away, leaving behind their experiments as well as several objects known as Diviners, which contained Terrigen crystals. There was a temple in the Kree city where those who survived the experiments but had not yet been exposed to Terrigen could go if they wanted to try to activate their powers.”

“Why would they wish this?”

“As young as you feel our culture is now, Thor,” Jane spoke up gently, “three or four thousand years ago, our people were mostly hunter-gatherer tribes or young civilizations. Cultures were developing in places like Egypt, Greece and China, but we were still very, very young even by our own standards. Many people probably did believe that their powers were a gift from the gods, and who wouldn’t want to be a god’s chosen one if they could?”

Thor considered the logic and nodded.

“Centuries later,” Skye went on, resuming her narrative, “the descendents of those originally modified by Terrigenesis formed a community in what is now part of China and began to call themselves Inhumans. They mostly lived in remote settlements in the mountains, separate from other people. They formed a culture of their own, built around teaching about their gifts and doing everything possible to ensure that those allowed to undergo the change would remain stable and in control of their powers.”

“This community still exists?” Thor sounded shocked. 

Skye sighed. “It did until a few months ago…”

“What happened?” Sam asked quietly.

“At the end of World War II, a HYDRA scientist named Werner Reinhardt,” she saw Steve flinch at the name and tried to keep this part as brief as possible, “discovered a Diviner and a village of mixed humans and Inhumans. He was well known for nasty experiments on humans; it was a terrible part of history. Anyway, one of the people he had captured was a woman named Jiaying. She and several others were rescued by the Howling Commandos and Peggy Carter. Reinhardt was imprisoned for over 40 years; we suspect eventually HYDRA loyalists managed to infiltrate enough of the government to free him. He went back to that same part of China, hoping to resume his experiments.”

She smiled, a brittle, bitter sort of smile. “I would imagine he was shocked that one of the people his scientists managed to round up was Jiaying. And that she had apparently not aged significantly, while he had grown old. You see, she was an Inhuman and that was her power; she could use life energy from others to heal herself or to maintain her vitality.”

“She was essentially immortal?” Jane sounded awed.

“Yes. Given how the Chinese value the wisdom of their elders and ancestors, it really shouldn’t surprise anyone that many of the community elders, when knowingly reaching the end of their lives, gifted her what remained of their vitality so that she could continue to lead the community.”

“This Jiaying was their Queen then, if what you say is true.”

Skye tilted her head. “I suppose that’s a valid viewpoint, though the Inhumans never used that title.”

“What happened to her after this scientist found her again?” Bucky asked. He actually already knew this answer, but he was hoping to keep Skye from dwelling for too long.

“I’ll spare you the gory details,” Skye said, glancing around the room at the various occupants; not everyone would have the stomach for what she knew. “Let’s just say that he took her apart, trying to figure out her power so he could take it for himself. Eventually, he did. He changed his name to Daniel Whitehall, and he returned to lead one division of HYDRA. He disposed of Jiaying’s remains; he didn’t know that her husband had tracked them down and actually found what was left of her. And though her husband wasn’t Inhuman himself, he was a doctor and understood how her power worked. And he managed to restore her to life.”

“I can’t even imagine what trauma like that would do to a person,” Sam said in a pained voice. “I’ve seen a lot of shit, helped people through more of their own. But that… I’m not sure there’s any coming back from that.”

“It gets worse,” Skye said grimly.

“Of course it does,” Steve commented, his expression almost as grim as Skye’s.

“Do we really need to hear this?” Darcy asked, her usual exuberance subdued.

“Only if you want to.” Skye shrugged. “I won’t be offended if you decide you don’t want to hear anymore.” But no one moved. “Jiaying survived, but after what she’d endured she was more than a little damaged. Particularly when they returned home to find that their village was destroyed and their daughter had disappeared while they were gone. Jiaying decided that if she could not protect her child, she would return her entire attention to protecting her people… but her logic was warped by her trauma.”

“Twenty five years later, Whitehall retrieved the Diviner; it had been in SHIELD custody for decades, marked as the original 0-8-4 - object of unknown origin.  He began experimenting with it, trying to weaponize its effects. When normal humans are exposed to it, their bodies turn to stone and the people die. Genetics is only just discovering that those who survive have a modified gene structure unique to them; they’re still essentially human at that point but the differences are there. Contact with the Diviner alone isn’t enough to cause the transformation, though; it needs the temple too. The Inhumans had found another way, they modified the crystals and used them directly. Whitehall manages to get his hands on a girl - an Agent of SHIELD - who he believes has the modified genes and he plans to send her down into the Kree city, a place that HYDRA and SHIELD have been racing to discover first - HYDRA to use it, and SHIELD to prevent them.”

No one interrupted her this time, though Bucky brought her a glass of water and sat beside her as she resumed the tale. “The girl’s team arrive as well, though, and her team leader kills Whitehall. Something about the Diviner and the temple call to her, though, and she goes down into the city anyway.”

“You know her,” Thor said, studying Skye carefully. “You have heard this tale from her directly.”

“What? No,” Darcy exclaimed.

“You could say that I know her,” Skye answered calmly. “I am her.”

“You went down into that temple,” Jane said. “Alone, even though you didn’t have to.”

“I had to. The Diviner was calling to me, whispering in the back of my mind. Call it fate or destiny or whatever else you want. But I had to go down there.”

“You are an Inhuman, Lady Skye?” Thor asked, seeking confirmation.

“I am, though I learned all of that much later. I had no idea at the time what would happen, or why I needed to be there. I just knew I had to. I didn’t count on the consequences, though. If I’d known… if I had never gone down there...”

“What happened down there, Skye?” Tony asked, encouraging her to go on.

“I gained my powers… and I watched a good friend die. He was one of my teammates, and he ducked into the temple just before it closed up. Terrigenesis turns Inhumans to stone just like it does regular humans, except for us it’s a… a shell. A cocoon, almost. When it breaks away, we’re different. Sometimes on the outside, sometimes on the inside. One of the first Inhumans I met had no eyes. He could still see, but it was different. He could also teleport. But Trip... my friend… he was a regular human, and the mist that changed me killed him.”

Skye had to pause for a minute; though not still actively grieving, she missed Trip dearly. “He was a good man, and all he wanted was to get me out safely. I actually started turning to stone before he did, and he tried to stop it by destroying the Diviner. But by the time I transformed and broke out of the shell, all that was left of him was a statue… with a look of resigned acceptance on his face as he looked at me.” 

“Every agent risks their life to protect others, Skye,” Natasha said into the silence. “I’m sure that in whatever afterlife he found, your friend knows that you lived and is content with that. Proud to see you happy and strong.”

“He will be remembered with honor and surely you will see him again in Valhalla,” Thor said solemnly.

Skye nodded, smiling a little. “I know. Thank you.” She gathered herself and kept going, past the hardest parts now. “My team brought me out of the Kree city after my transformation, and eventually I met the other Inhumans. The teleporter, Gordon, came to me and offered to take me to the Inhuman settlement to learn to control my powers. I wasn’t ready the first time, but… events made it necessary and when I called to him, he came. The Inhumans taught me control, and some of the history of our people… and more.”

“More? More what?” Darcy looked like she couldn’t take much more. Skye smiled at her, trying for reassuring.

“The Inhumans had most of the bloodlines mapped out. There were a few here and there that they didn’t know about, but none of them expected me. You see, I was the daughter that was taken away. A SHIELD team found a village wiped out, except for one little baby girl. The initial team was killed as well, but one agent managed to get away with the baby before his wounds killed him; the secondary team found her and took her back to the US. One of the agents faked a clearance higher than she actually had and put the baby in the foster system with a hidden protocol to keep her moving from family to family, never in one place for long. That agent was killed shortly thereafter, but the baby was safe.”

Steve’s expression was stricken, and Tony looked like he was blinking back tears. Pepper moved to Tony’s side and she rested her hand on his shoulder supportively. Bucky held Skye’s hand tightly.

“You are Jiaying’s daughter,” Thor said seriously. “The lost Princess of the Inhumans.”

Skye simply nodded, not feeling the need to argue with Thor over titles at the moment. “For a few days, it was wonderful. She helped me learn about my powers, told me my name and my real birthdate. For one quiet evening over dinner, I had the family I always dreamed of but never known. And then it all shattered.”

“Oh, no,” Darcy lamented. “Don’t tell me it gets worse again.”

“I told you that Jiaying was damaged by what she’d been through. Somewhere along the way, she decided that the only way the Inhumans would ever be completely safe would be to expose the entire world to Terrigen. It would kill all the humans, transform all the Inhuman potentials, and does nothing at all to Inhumans who have already changed. That way, she thought they could finally be at peace. I tried to reason with her, it’s genocide on a massive scale, but she told me I would understand when it was all over and had me knocked unconscious. I don’t know why she brought me along with the group going to enact this plan, but she did, and my team found us as well.”

“Clearly your team was successful in stopping her; the rest of us wouldn’t be here otherwise,” Steve said.

“We did. But in that final confrontation, I went to my mother. I tried to tell her it was wrong, that I couldn’t let her do it. She reached out to me… and started to drain my life away. My… my father had joined together with Coulson and the team to come help stop Jiaying. In the end... it was my father... who killed my mother, to save my life.” Skye’s voice finally broke and she had to stop talking.

Bucky pulled her into his arms and held her, just as he had held her when the team returned to the playground. But this time he was quickly joined by first Tony, then Steve. They all held her gently, providing as much comfort as they could.

The rest of the group stayed silent; there really was nothing they could say that would help. Eventually Skye untangled herself enough to dry her eyes. She looked across the table to meet Thor’s gaze, his blue eyes full of respect, and gave him a small smile in response.

“So that’s how I learned about Terrigenesis and the history of the Inhumans. Not all of them were against SHIElD or humankind; many of them just want to be left alone. But there are going to be more of us; a case of Terrigen crystals was knocked into the ocean. We’re starting to get reports of new transformations; we’re not quite sure how yet. Apparently the exposure is enough to cause an Inhuman to manifest, but not enough to harm everyone else. At least not consistently. And that’s all we know. But we - SHIELD, I mean - intends to find these people if we can. Bring them together with other Inhumans and get them the training they need to handle their new powers. If they choose to work with SHIELD, they will become part of my team. And I would very much prefer that didn’t cause us problems with Asgard, if possible.”

“You have my word, Princess Skye, that I will do what I can to facilitate any relationship between your people and my own.” Thor stood from the table to salute and bow to her; she returned the bow with a gracious nod.

“Thank you. We had one unpleasant encounter shortly after I changed, before I met the other Inhumans.” She took a few minutes to outline her encounter with Vin-Tak and Lady Sif, and Thor frowned thoughtfully.

“I will speak of this with my father, the next time I return to Asgard. I hope you hold no ill will from this assault?”

“No, I don’t. Sif left the matter to us to deal with, and that was all we really wanted. It’s not a problem.”

“Does this make you part alien, Skye?” Darcy asked, her irreverent humor starting to show again as the mood lightened.

“I think so. According to our biochem expert, Inhuman DNA is drastically different from our original human structure. We’ve never had the opportunity to compare it directly with Kree DNA, or any other non-human species for that matter, but it’s not an unreasonable conclusion.”

“If I can be of any assistance to you in understanding this new, non-human side of yourself,” Thor began hesitantly.

“I appreciate the offer. I’m doing pretty okay with it, for now. But if something comes up, I will ask,” Skye agreed. “Do you know if it might be possible to acquire a blood sample or other DNA sample from a Kree? For comparison to Inhuman, I mean.”

“I am uncertain; if you wish, I could speak with our healers. It’s possible that they have record already of the information you seek.”

“That would be great if they do. If not, it’s alright. We’ve come this far without it. It isn’t necessary, just that we’re curious,” Skye explained.

“So your team knows about all of this?” Sam asked curiously.

“Yep. My team knows everything, some of SHIELD’s upper-level agents know some of it. But SHIELD is still a covert operation at this point. The people who need to know we’re around, they know. The rest will have to wait for the dust from HYDRA and Insight to settle.”

“Does Fury know?” Clint asked, speaking for the first time since she started.

Skye shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe? We haven’t seen him since he made Coulson the Director and then vanished again.”

Jane and Darcy traded a glance. “I thought Agent iPod Thief was dead?” Darcy said.

“Long story,” Skye said with a sigh. “And I’m done storytelling for one day. Short version: he died. Fury pulled some strings, got access to an experimental treatment, now Coulson’s alive again. But that information was high-level security restricted for several reasons, and Coulson wasn’t allowed to tell most people that he lived, let alone how. If you want to know more, you can ask him yourself. He and my team will be here on Monday.”

“I think,” Thor said, after exchanging a long look with his partners, “that is a meeting worth extending our visit for.”

\----

Later that evening, Skye sat on the couch on Tony’s floor - though she was starting to think of it more as  _ theirs, _ which was definitely an odd feeling. She had her feet tucked under her as she stared thoughtfully at the computer screen.

The website she had open was for Murdock & Nelson, attorneys at law. Based out of New York City; in Hell’s Kitchen, if she was reading the address right. It was just like Matt to try to bring a little law into that dangerous neighborhood.

“What’cha doin, doll?”

Skye looked up from the computer with a smile; she was used to hearing that particular phrase of question from Bucky, but this time it was Steve doing the asking. She didn’t mind; it wasn’t difficult to tell their voices apart, after all.

“I’m looking for a phone number for Matt.”

“Your old friend, right?”

“Yeah. I just… the past few days, we’ve talked a lot about death and near-death experiences. I started thinking, maybe I shouldn’t just let this go…”

Steve pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I think it’s a good idea.”

“Do you think it will be weird? I haven’t seen him in years, and I’ve changed so much since then…”

“Yes. It will be weird. But if you two were that close, he probably still cares about you as much as you do about him.”

“I’d like to think so. It’s too late tonight, but maybe Monday… their office isn’t open tomorrow.”

“Monday sounds like a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually getting pretty close to finishing writing. So hopefully updates will stay regular. Sorry about the birthday delay, though. Many thanks to those of you who sent me greetings and happy wishes!


	9. Meetings and Outings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tony doesn't use his technology appropriately and Skye has a lot of things to think about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of people have been asking for this, and I hope you're happy with it.
> 
> I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I do not actually watch Daredevil, and a lot of the history between Skye and Matt is entirely out of my own head (or ideas from my beta). If things don't quite line up to your expectations, you'll just have to forgive me.

Skye slipped quietly into the back of St. Agnes’ Church and took a seat at the far end of the back-most pew. She hadn’t been in here since she was sixteen, and the place brought back so many memories. She had borrowed another dress from Natasha, nothing too fancy - she really needed to get more of her own clothes here before she wore out Nat’s patience - so she fit in well enough with the other church-goers.

Deciding to come had been spur of the moment choice. Bucky and Steve had gone for their run, Tony was still asleep, and everyone else had gone back to their own floors - or home, in Sam’s case. No one would miss her for a few hours, though she’d told FRIDAY where she was going so hopefully no one would panic.

Church had never been her thing. Skye knew all the teachings, hadn’t had a choice in the matter, but she didn’t really feel them personally. But it didn’t matter; she wasn’t here for the service, she was here to think. 

She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice when the service ended and people started filing out. She was all alone at the end of an empty pew, so she wasn’t blocking anyone in as she continued to sit.

“Mary Sue! What on Earth are you doing back here?” Skye’s thoughts were interrupted by an ancient-looking nun, standing over her with her hands on her hips. Other people were moving around her, most just trying to keep out of range, though a few looked curious.

“I’m sorry, sister. I was just thinking,” she said, habit kicking in before her mind caught up.

“Why aren’t you with the other children?” She pointed to the row of orphans filing out of the church, mostly looking like they’d rather be going outside than to Sunday school.

Skye blinked up at her. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.” She got to her feet, and the nun seemed lost as she realized that the girl she was scolding was much too tall to be one of her little charges.

“I’m sorry,” another sister approached quickly, apologizing. “Go along, Sister Francis. The children are waiting.” She ushered the older woman towards the kids. “I’m terribly sorry, miss. Her mind is lost in the past more and more these days.”

Skye shook her head. “It’s alright. Maybe I look like one of the children she used to care for.”

“Maybe you were one of those children once?” a familiar voice interrupted, tone amused. Skye’s eyes went wide; she hadn’t realized Matt would be there.

She turned to face him, ignoring the now confused nun. “Maybe we both were,” she answered agreeably.

“Hello Skye,” Matt said with a smile. Skye rocked on her toes, fighting the impulse to throw herself at him and hug him tightly. He seemed to sense it, leaning his cane on the pew beside him and holding out his arms.

She stepped in close, hugging him tightly. “Hi Matt,” she whispered. “It’s been a long time.”

Still looking bewildered, the nun excused herself and hurried away. Skye just chuckled, hugging Matt for a moment more before stepping back.

“It definitely has. This is probably the last place I expected to see you; didn’t you swear you’d never come back here again?” he asked with a smile. They started towards the door, Skye following along as they talked.

“Yeah, I suppose I did. But I was in town, and thinking about things… it was kind of a whim, I guess. Closure, maybe.” It was remarkably easy to fall into old habits, her hand on his arm, making sure doorways were clear before they reached them. She was fairly sure he didn’t need her help, probably hadn’t ever needed it if she were being honest.

Maybe that was why he was willing to let her. Because she knew he didn’t need it, just that she cared enough to make the effort. In return, she let him hold doors open for her and didn’t argue when he insisted on taking the street side of the sidewalk when they walked together.

“Feel like a drink, then? Or maybe some lunch?” Matt asked. “It’d be good to catch up for a while.”

“That sounds great. Wherever’s good; I haven’t been down here in a decade.” She followed him to a little bar. The sign out front read ‘Josie’s’. The place was a total dive, dark and cramped. But the staff clearly recognized Matt so she kept her opinions to herself. She did take a minute to shoot a quick text to Steve, then turned her phone to silent so they wouldn’t be interrupted.

“How have you been, Skye?” Matt asked as they settled at a table. “You’re not still with that Miles jerk, are you?” 

“Oh, no. Goodness, no, not for years. I’m good. Been busy. How about you?”

“Oh, I’m not seeing Miles either. Not my type.”

Skye laughed. “Good. He’s not good enough for you anyway.”

“What brings you back to Hell, Skye? I never expected to find you here again.”

“Mostly? A couple of my soulmates live here. And by here, I mean Manhattan. We’re currently trying to figure out whether my work can be moved here or not.”

“Your soulmates? You found them?”

“Found one a few months ago; we found the others together. They were together already, too. So we’re kinda in the merging-pairs stage.”

“They’re good people, though? The nuns were always a little weird about your multiple marks.”

“Yeah, they’re all good people. Great people, really.”

“Good. I’m not above a shovel talk if I feel it’s needed,” he teased.

Skye just smirked. “That would be… an interesting talk. I’d definitely want to listen in.”

“Guess your patron saint is still keeping an eye on you, then.”

Skye burst out laughing. “Oh, goodness. No, no we can never tell him that. He’d die.” Matt gave her a puzzled look and Skye tried to calm herself down. “As unbelievable as it seems, my patron saint turned out to be one of my soulmates. He’d be mortified to hear he’d been sainted, let alone that he was my patron saint as a kid!”

Matt stared at her for a long time, looking like he was waiting for the punchline, before his jaw dropped. “You’re not kidding, are you?” he asked when he found his voice.

Skye shook her head. “No, I’m really not. My soulmates are pretty unbelievable, all three of them.” She glanced around. “Is it safe to talk in here? I don’t want to cause a scene.”

“I wouldn’t, but I’m paranoid. It can wait,” Matt said. Skye accepted that without another word; better safe than sorry. “You still working with computers?”

“Sometimes. I work with people more, these days; I’m kinda part of a team, now.”

“Doing what?”

Skye shrugged, more from habit than for Matt. “Whatever needs doing,” she answered. “Research, communications. I traveled a lot, for a while. Tracking people and information. All legit, I swear. Part of my job.”

“Relax, Skye. I’m not working today.”

“Not today, or just not right now?”

Matt’s expression turned concerned. “Someone after you for something, Skye?”

“No, not like that. Just that… well, I guess you could say I kinda wound up working for the government. Even though I swore I never would. And… well, I can’t talk about a lot of what I do these days.”

“You have that high of a security clearance?”

“I’m not allowed to talk about, it Matt,” she said simply. “It’s called an NDA.”

“Fair enough.”

“I saw online that you’re working for yourself these days. Tell me about that?”

So Matt told her about starting a law firm with a friend of his, and a bit about his partner at the same time. Understanding that he couldn’t talk specifics with her, she asked about the kinds of cases they worked on and how they were holding up as lawyers in New York.

In return, she told him a bit about her teammates. Not what they worked on, but little things. That one was a brilliant engineer, always tinkering with new innovations. That her immediate superior was a kickass woman who had taught her tai chi and self defense, among other things. That her team had started to feel like family, and it was weird but kinda cool at the same time.

“Well, if they’re ever in town and available, I’d kind of like to meet them,” Matt said. “It sounds like a good group of people.”

“I’ll see what I can arrange. No promises, though.”

“I understand. So you’re going to be around for a while?”

“Hopefully we’ll be figuring that out in the next few days.”

Matt nodded. He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to her. “My cell is on the back, and you know I’m always reachable for you, Skye.”

“I know. I’ll try to be better about keeping in touch this time.”

“Good. Thank you.”

She glanced at her phone and saw three missed calls and half a dozen texts. “I suppose I should probably get back before my soulmates have a full on panic attack. I’ll ping you when I get back to where I’m staying, though, so you’ll have my number too.” She sent a single reply to all her messages, just that she was on her way back.

“That works.” They settled the bill and stepped back outside. Skye turned and gave Matt another long hug. He held her tightly and then touched her cheek lightly when she pulled away. “Take care of yourself, Skye. And keep in touch. Remember, you’re never alone.”

“I know. You be careful, too. And if you need me, call. I’m a lot easier to reach these days.”

Skye waved before turning to walk down the street, back towards the Tower and a better part of town. But she knew she’d be back, this time. Matt was still here, after all.

It didn’t take her long to get back to the Tower; Manhattan wasn’t actually that big a place. Just crowded. She decided to stop on the common floor before going to change clothes. It turned out to be for the best when she discovered everyone gathered there and looking worried.

“Hey, guys. Something happen?” she asked.

“‘Something happen?’ Just like that?” Tony asked with a frown.

“They were totally freaked when they found out you were gone and no one knew where,” Darcy chimed in.

“Oh, for-” Skye rolled her eyes. “I left a message with FRIDAY, and when I ran into Matt I sent Steve a text. I walked down to St. Anges’, guys. I needed some time to think.”

“FRIDAY?” Tony asked, startled into simple questions. “Do you have a message?”

“Yes, sir,” FRIDAY responded. “Message from Miss Skye: ‘I went for a walk down to St. Agnes’ church. I need some time to think things over, nothing serious. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.’”

“Why in the hell didn’t you  _ say so earlier _ ?” Tony demanded.

“You did not ask, sir.”

Skye just smirked. “That’ll teach me to assume you use all your technology.”

Darcy cackled with laughter, and Sam started to grin. Her soulmates looked rather abashed, trading glances as if to wonder why they hadn’t thought of FRIDAY.

“Anyway, I’m gonna go change. Nat, thanks for loaning me another dress.”

“I thought I recognized that one,” Natasha answered with a smirk. “As long as you keep putting them back clean, Skye, you can raid my closet anytime.”

“After we work things out with Coulson, I’ll have to get more of my own things here.”

“Forget moving clothes, Skye. I’ll give you my card, you can go shopping,” Tony said. “This afternoon, if you want.”

“Ooh, fun! Shopping spree for Skye!” Darcy called out. Skye just waved over her shoulder as she got back into the elevator.

If she was being dragged out to shop, she was definitely going to need to wear something more comfortable.

\-----

Skye sighed as Natasha hauled her along the street towards Fifth Avenue, Darcy not far behind and similarly dragging Jane. “You guys know I could spend half an hour online and everything would be here by tomorrow, right?” she protested.

“You can’t buy good clothes online, Skye,” Natasha chided. “It won’t fit right.”

“The places we’re going, they’ll tailor everything to you right in the store. No too-short sleeves, no tripping over the hem of your pants,” Pepper added.

“You guys, no.” Skye tried to dig in her heels, but Natasha just kept them moving. “I don’t need to waste Tony’s money on high end fashion. We can go back and I’ll just order stuff from Amazon and maybe browse the outlet sites if you want me to find something nice.”

Pepper stopped and turned to Skye with a sigh. “Listen, Skye. We - and Tony - want you to have something nice. It’s not a waste of money for you to have clothes that make you feel more comfortable in the kind of social circles and events Tony frequents. We don’t have to get everything at once; once the shops have your measurements on file we can order anytime.”

“Pepper… I don’t belong in this world, not really. I can’t imagine wearing a dress that costs more than I make in a month.”

“I understand,” Pepper answered soothingly. “It’s all new and different, and I get that. But if you want to be fully and completely part of his life, you’re going to have to adapt. You don’t have to live in those circles constantly, but you are going to have to step into them from time to time. And eventually everyone is going to recognize you, if only for your soulmates. You need to present the best front to them that you possibly can.”

“Think of it as a mission, Skye,” Natasha added. “If you stand out, you’ll be targeted. So you have to blend in.”

Skye blinked and glanced over at Darcy helplessly, only to find the other woman nodding her agreement. She slumped in defeat. “Alright, fine. Let’s get this over with, I guess.”

In the end, she let Pepper and Natasha talk (or perhaps bully) her into buying several dresses in varying degrees of formality, with all the requisite accessories - shoes, stockings, purses, jewelry, hair accessories and whatever else they deemed necessary. She did also manage to put her foot down enough to get a few pairs of jeans, some sweaters and regular shirts too, from a little boutique with a cute storefront. A coat for chilly evenings and a jacket just to wear out walking.

All the fancy stuff would be delivered in the next day or two, once the tailoring was done. Her casual stuff was in bags she carried.

Jane and Darcy also had new clothes. “Fit to be seen with a Prince of Asgard,” Darcy exclaimed gleefully when trying one of them on. Jane was much less enthusiastic about the clothes, at least until Darcy pointed out that should Thor’s friends ever come visiting again at least she would have more to wear than her ex’s old flannel.

By the time they got back to the tower, though, Skye was exhausted. If anything, she hated shopping even more now. The idea of a thousand-dollar dress hanging in her closet was enough to send her fiscally frugal mind into fits.

She might almost have felt better if she hadn’t known how much everything cost. And she knew it as nothing to Tony; he wouldn’t even notice the change in his accounts. But she couldn’t quite wrap her head around that, either. She let herself into the room she and Bucky shared to put away the things that had come home with her.

She knew on some level that they were right. She could wear whatever she wanted around the tower, and no one was going to care. But eventually, people would figure out who she was. That she was some no-name girl with no past and next to no legal existence, suddenly on the arms of three famous men.

If she didn’t look the part, she’d get eaten alive. And even then, only if she were lucky.

“Maybe this was a bad idea,” she mumbled to herself as she flopped back onto the bed. But, no. It had barely been a week and already she knew she wouldn’t trade her soulmates for anything. She would just have to adapt, like Pepper had said. And she would. She was strong enough for this.

“How is this my life?” she asked aloud, wondering how just when she had started to get used to having a regular home and a steady job suddenly fate had to up the stakes again.

“Not sure what you mean, doll,” Bucky said, leaning against the doorframe with a smile.

“Oh… nothing, just talking to myself. How was your afternoon?”

“Good. Spent some time in the gym with Steve, Sam and Thor. You?”

“I hate shopping.” Bucky chuckled and moved into the room, sitting beside her on the comforter. “What? I do. When I was younger, it was because everything I bought was second hand at best and never actually fit. Lately I wear sweats and athletic stuff of my own; mission gear is all supplied by SHIELD. Couple of nice things that I own, but nothing like this…” She waved her hand towards the closet where her new clothes hung. “I think we just spent more in two hours than I have in the past five years. A couple of things still coming cost more than I’ve ever had in my whole life put together. And Pepper just ran a card like it was nothing.”

Bucky ran his hand through Skye’s hair soothingly and she sighed as she let him help her relax. “You’re going through a lot of changes real fast, doll. It’s okay to be overwhelmed sometimes.”

“Are you?” She slitted her eyes open to peek up at him.

“A bit, yeah. I mean, no one’s taken me clothes shopping, though I suspect it’ll happen at some point. But I got used to having to adapt to new circumstances every time I woke up.” 

“I suppose you had to; not that you were likely aware of changing fashions of the times anyway.”

“Nah. Combat fatigues don’t change much. Different fabrics sometimes; I hear synthetic fabrics were a big deal for a while.”

Skye grinned. “For a while, yeah. Now trend has gone back to natural fabrics, though synthetics are still everywhere. People do strange things sometimes.”

Bucky laughed. “Yeah, they do. Always have, near as I can tell.”

“Yeah.”

“Come on, doll. Between your trip out this morning and your afternoon shopping, we’ve barely seen you today. Come join us for a while before dinner.”

“I can do that.”

“Hey, sweetheart,” Tony greeted her when they emerged from the bedroom. “Have a good afternoon.”

Skye made a face. “I’m really not much of a shopper. But I got some nice things, so thank you.”

Tony tilted his head, assessing her expression as well as her comment. “Trip didn’t go well?”

“No, it did. I just…” She moved to an armchair and sunk into it, enjoying the comfort. She considered trying to make excuses or wave away Tony’s concern, but she knew fully well that wasn’t the best way to handle it. “I appreciate what you and Pepper want to do for me. I really do. But I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of owning dresses that cost more than I’ve ever made in my life. I’m just not used to this, is all.”

“I’m sorry,” Tony apologized, and truly meant it. “I know I take things for granted that are strange to people who didn’t grow up the way I did. I’ll admit it, sweetheart; I’m a spoiled billionaire. Always have been.”

“I’m not arguing with Pepper’s point, or Natasha’s. If I’m going to be a part of your life, publically, then I need to accept these things. I can’t ask you to keep our soulbond a secret for long, and honestly I wouldn’t want to. I want everyone to know I’m the luckiest woman in existence. But it’s going to take me some time.”

“I know. You don’t think Capsicle, here, adjusted quickly to having money either?”

Skye glanced at Steve, who shrugged. “The cost of things these days just boggles my mind. Four dollars for a cup of coffee? A gallon of milk costs ten times what it used to, and a loaf of cheap bread went from eight cents to a dollar and a half? And that’s if you don’t even look at the ‘specialty’ bread; those are like four bucks a loaf. It’s crazy.”

“Wait, a gallon of milk in the store is over three and a half dollars?” Bucky blinked in shock. “Seriously? There’s ‘specialty bread’ now?”

Skye smiled sympathetically and nodded. “Yeah, it is, and I get that. I do. But I’m pretty used to being self-sufficient. I won’t say I don’t love having nice things; some of the jewelry that Pepper ordered to go with the ‘special occasion’ dresses are things I would’ve died for when I was younger. I’m just having a hard time coping. It’s a strange head-space for me.”

“Take your time, sweetheart. I won’t be offended if it takes you some time to adjust.” Steve just looked at Tony, who shrugged. “Okay, fine. I’ll try not to be offended. I know none of you has lived the kind of life I have, and that honestly probably makes you better people than me. I just want to make sure that you don’t have to worry about little things like how much food a super soldier can eat, or whether some hotshot reporter is going to try to snap photos of you the moment you set foot out of the building.”

“And I’ll fully well admit that I have a lot to learn; no one’s ever been the slightest bit interested in where I went or what I was wearing. I know eventually that will change, and I need to be more aware. So yeah, I can switch to designer jeans and fancy shoes. I’ll adjust. Today was just too much all at once, you know?”

Tony smiled. “Yeah, sweetheart. It’s alright. Besides, if I know Pepper, she took you someplace where the next time you need something all you have to do is pick a style and a color and they’ll send something over already fitted to you. You won’t have to deal with the store or the price tags.”

Skye made a face but nodded. “Yeah, she did. And I’ll admit it; it might help for a while. To just not know, until I get used to having these things. But you’re probably not going to stop me from buying shorts and t-shirts from Amazon, either.”

“Skye, sweetheart, I don’t particularly care where your clothes come from,” Tony answered, laughing. “I’m sure Pepper will tell you that you need to look the part for a while, and she’s probably not wrong; once people get used to you all as more of ‘those crazy Starks’ then you can show up to places in ripped jeans and an old t-shirt right with me.”

Startled, Skye just blinked for a moment at the very idea that people might one day consider her a Stark. She knew that multiple marriages were allowed legally, though they were socially frowned on unless people had multiple soulmarks. So they might at some point have to make their actual soulmarks public if they wanted to avoid that fallout. But she hadn’t ever seriously considered whether or not her soulmates would want such a thing or if they’d just be happy to all be together…

When Skye didn’t respond, Tony glanced at Steve. “Did I say something wrong?”

“I don’t think so, Tony. Skye, you still with us?”

“I… yeah. I’m here. Sorry.”

“You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She smiled as she refocused on the conversation. “Sorry if I spaced.”

“What’s on your mind, doll?” Bucky asked.

“Just realizing that I never considered the possibility that finding you all might eventually land me with a last name, or a few.” She smiled a little. “Which, by the way, is  _ not _ me dropping hints or even wanting to discuss it yet. Just that Tony’s comment about people thinking of us as Starks made me realize that  _ I’d _ never actually even thought about it.”

“I don’t think any of us is ready for that discussion,” Steve said with a small smile. “But think about it all you like.”

Skye nodded. “I just might.”

After dinner, they put in another movie to watch. Skye resolved the friendly argument over who got to sit next to her by making them all sit on a couch and draping herself across all three laps. Her feet were on Bucky’s lap, her hips over Steve’s legs and her head rested on Tony’s shoulder.

Thor, Jane and Darcy were piled together on another couch for the evening. “It’s a good thing I don’t buy cheap furniture,” Tony commented with a smirk as they started the movie.

No one argued.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We needed a lighter chapter, and I hope this gave you all a break from the highly emotional chapters. But unfortunately, it was just a break. Hang on tight for the next one...


	10. You Sparred With THOR?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sparring match, and Skye's team finally puts in an appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a lot of emotional ups and downs in this chapter. It actually kind of ran away with me; clearly the characters had stuff they needed to get off their chests. 
> 
> Many thanks to all the people who pushed me through this chapter, NerdyKat in particular for awesome betaness. :)

When Skye got to the gym for her early morning Tai Chi, the place was completely empty. Steve, Bucky and Sam were out for their run, and while Skye suspected that Clint and Nat were around somewhere, that where wasn’t here. So she shrugged to herself and began anyway. She could work out alone if necessary.

She had gone through several katas before she felt another presence join her. Sure enough, as soon as she finished, she heard Thor’s polite voice. “Good morning, Princess Skye.”

She turned to him with a smile. “Good morning, Prince Thor. Join me?”

“I would enjoy that.” He wore a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, looking much like anyone else would when going to a gym. “Would you be interested in a friendly spar?”

Skye grinned. “Sure thing. I’m pretty sure I’m not in your strength class, but it would be cool to find out if I can compensate for that.”

“Friend Stark prefers I not use Mjolnir within the tower, but I believe I am proficient enough with either unarmed combat or other weapons to present you a valid challenge.”

“We can try a few different things. See what works best,” Skye responded agreeably. She tossed Thor a pair of batons; while she wasn’t as proficient with them as Bobbi, she was decent enough.

Two hours later, they had gained a small audience. Clint had settled into the rafters first, preferring to watch from the height. Skye suspected he called Natasha, because not much later the redhead was perched on one of the weight benches, just observing quietly.

By the time Steve and Bucky wandered in, Skye and Thor had discarded weapons and were sparring unarmed. Thor was faster than his size suggested, and he was strong. But Skye was lithe and proficient enough with judo to use Thor’s weight against him when tossing him across the mats.

Thor just laughed every time Skye sent him flying. They traded jibes and grins as they fought, and Skye couldn’t remember the last time sparring had been quite so fun. She was using her powers, though, a bit. Enough to distract Thor sometimes, or knock him off his feet if she needed a breather.

“Your control is most impressive, Princess,” Thor said with a grin when they stopped for a break.

Skye bowed playfully. “As is yours, Prince.” She opened a bottle of water and took a long drink.

“We should speak later. I would like to hear more about the abilities of the Inhumans you know. Perhaps I know or can learn of others with similar abilities; help you understand how to assist with training or countering them.”

“I would appreciate that. I’m sure we can make some time for it.”

“Good! Then I will excuse myself for now; Darcy promised to make sure Jane did not get lost in the labs here, but Jane can be… difficult to distract.” He bowed to Skye, waved to his friends, and was gone.

“That was pretty impressive, Skye,” Steve seconded after Thor left.

“I caught some things we could improve on,” Natasha spoke up as she approached Skye. “We’ll work on it another time, though. You should take a break now.”

“Great job, kid,” Clint seconded.

Skye blushed. “Thanks, everyone. I should probably go get cleaned up before my team gets here, though.”

“Should I meet them again?” Natasha offered.

Skye shook her head. “Not this time. I want a chance to say hi before Coulson’s presence makes things explode.”

“That seems fair,” Bucky said when no one else seemed to have a response for that.

“Yeah,” Clint said tightly. “When are we expecting them?”

Skye checked her phone. “About an hour. So I’m gonna go wash up.”

She headed for the elevator, knowing that their afternoon had the potential to be very explosive indeed.

\-----

When her team arrived, Skye did indeed meet them in the Tower’s lobby on her own. She left Bucky with Steve, Tony and the others as they tried to settle themselves to meet Coulson again for the first time since he’d died. This was not going to be an easy meeting for anyone.

“Hey, everybody,” Skye greeted her team with smiles and hugs for everyone. “Good to see you more mobile,” she added to Bobbi, who was walking with a knee brace and no other assistance.

“It’s good to be mobile again. Still a work in progress, though,” she answered with a friendly smile.

“How are you doing, Tremors?” Mack asked with a smile as he picked Skye up for a hug.

“I’m good. We’ve had a few rough moments in the past week, but we’re alright.”

“Yes, the Director told us that you had to tell your soulmates about Italy and TAHITI,” Jemma said with a sympathetic look.

“But we didn’t hear about any collateral damage, so we assumed you managed to keep them under your thumb,” Hunter added with a wry grin.

Skye laughed. “I didn’t give them the name of my shooter, and I would appreciate it if no one here did either. It’s handled and we’re okay for now, so I’d rather not kick the beehive if we can help it.”

Skye led the way to the elevator; thankfully, they were large because eight people might have been a tight fit otherwise. They emerged into the same open lounge area where the Avengers’ party had been on Friday night; plenty of room for everyone, and a bar in case they wound up with a reason to celebrate. At least, that had been Tony’s commentary.

If you asked her, though, Skye thought it was more because the pending confrontation was going to leave most of the group wanting a drink. She couldn’t really blame them, either.

Except that the Avengers weren’t there. Pepper emerged from a side room with a brittle smile. “Welcome, everyone,” she said politely. “Please, help yourselves to something to drink.” She pinned Coulson with a hard look. “The Avengers would like to speak with you _in private_ , Director, before meeting with the rest of your team.” She slanted a glance at Skye briefly and Skye nodded in response. Pepper then vanished into the other room.

“This could be a bit, guys,” she said to the rest of the team. “May as well get comfortable. There’s snacks behind the bar, too.” As the others moved to find a drink or a seat, Skye tucked her hand into Coulson’s arm. “Ready, DC?”

Coulson gave her a pained smile. “Not really, no. But let’s get this over with.”

May silently followed as Skye let Coulson into the meeting room, glaring at anyone who looked about to suggest she should leave. Instead, May closed the door and leaned her back against it - both guarding the exit and trapping Phil in the room to deal with the fallout of SHIELD secrets.

“Agent,” Tony greeted Coulson in a hard, blank voice. “Good of you to join us.”

Before Coulson could reply, Pepper walked over and stopped right in front of him. Stared at him for a long moment, then slapped him quickly before anyone could stop her. “That’s for letting us think you were dead!” she scolded, but there were tears in her eyes. A moment later, she was hugging him tightly. “God, Phil. Over a year believing you’d been killed by a madman…”

Coulson hugged Pepper back awkwardly while Skye smothered a smile. More than two years of Skye’s impulsive hugging had at least gotten Phil to the point where he could respond semi-comfortably.

“I’m sorry,” Coulson told Pepper honestly. “I can’t really make excuses. It wouldn’t help any if I tried, though; I know better than that.”

“I think what we all really want to know is just one thing,” Steve said bluntly in what Skye realized was probably his “Captain” voice. “And that’s ‘why?’”

Coulson nodded. “And you deserve an answer to that. What did Skye tell you?”

Skye tugged Coulson over to a chair and let him sit down. A look from her had the others settling into seats as well, though Clint remained perched on the back of Nat’s. May stayed by the door and Skye moved off to the side. Bucky was there as well, being about the only one in the room who had nothing vested in Coulson’s death. Even Skye did, given how they’d discovered it.

“Not much,” Clint finally said. “She told us that Fury put you into an experimental treatment program that basically brought you back from the dead. That the drug was of an alien origin but tests had been discontinued due to some sort of trauma effect. More than that, she said wasn’t her story to tell.”

Coulson made a face, then nodded. “After World War II, during the raid of a HYDRA lab the SSR recovered the corpse of an alien. The thing was thousands of years old, but somehow preserved. We don’t know where HYDRA found it. Scientists spent decades studying it; eventually it led to the development of several advanced drugs. One drug had near-miraculous cellular regeneration properties. Fury authorized tests on human volunteers; several were soldiers seriously maimed in the line of duty. One had a terminal case of cancer. And the drug was able to heal and restore them all.”

“Sounds too good to be true,” Clint commented.

“Anything that sounds too good to be true usually is,” Natasha added darkly.

Coulson sighed. “You aren’t wrong. Everyone involved in the test developed psychoses. Hypergraphia, of a series of symbols that neither they nor we could identify. Obsession, catatonia, that sort of thing. The scientists theorized that there was some sort of genetic memory imprinted from the alien that we couldn’t get rid of, and it caused a conflict in their minds. The only way we discovered to stabilize them was to completely overwrite their memories; remove all recollection of the treatment, and give them new lives, new identities. For the sake of their lives, I approved the treatment. But it was horrific, and I recommended that the tests be discontinued and the treatment never used.”

“And Fury did it anyway?” Steve asked, horrified but somehow not really surprised.

“It was meant to be an emergency protocol,” Coulson admitted quietly. “To save an Avenger fallen in the line of duty…”

“I don’t think any of us would have wanted that.”

“They erased Coulson’s memory of both the treatment and the experiments,” Skye offered in a low tone. “Gave him false memories of recovering on a beach in Tahiti.”

“How did you figure it all out, if they erased your memories?” Tony asked.

“When Skye was dying, I did everything I could to get in touch with Fury. To find the doctors who had saved my life, so they could save hers,” Coulson began, giving Skye a fond look. “She’d earned our best efforts, going above and beyond what even most SHIELD Agents would have done in her place. We learned first the name of the drug, then tracked down the facility. Took a team and broke in; it wasn’t a SHIELD facility, though they worked with us on some projects. We got out with what we could, but the place was rigged to blow if anyone tried to invade. But we found enough of the drug for Skye, and I sent it ahead with one of my agents while I looked over the rest of the facility. And found the alien corpse they were deriving the drug from.”

“Unfortunately, beginning that line of investigation also began to trigger the memories. I remembered bits and pieces, flashes of images. And it also began to trigger the side effects.” Coulson sighed. “It wasn’t as bad for me, at first. I’d find myself up in the middle of the night, carving symbols into a wall. But the rest of the time, I was alright. I trusted May to watch out for me, and for our people in case something went wrong. We also watched Skye for similar symptoms, but she never showed any.”

“Why would she not?” Thor asked, his tone deeply disturbed.

“We don’t know for sure,” Skye said with a shrug. “If I had to guess, I’d say it was because I’m Inhuman. My DNA had already been affected to Kree tampering, so a drug derived from one’s blood didn’t disturb my mind. Or if they’re right about genetic memory, maybe I already had it so there was no conflict.”

“You could have Kree memories, Princess Skye?” Thor asked.

She shook her head. “Not consciously, no. But the first time I saw what Coulson was drawing… I knew it was a map. Not words, not a language. But a map of a city. The Kree city under San Juan, where I transformed.”

“Princess?” Coulson asked, looking at Skye with amusement in his eyes.

“I’ll explain later,” she replied. “Finish this first.”

“So you’re basically saying that the process that saved your life also tampered with your memories,” Natasha said, cutting right to the heart of the matter. “Did they affect your memories of the past?”

Coulson gave her a small, sad smile. “It would be nice to take the easy way out and tell you it did, but no. Not in the way you’re suggesting. Many things from before my treatment seemed… hazy. At a distance, so to speak. But no, I didn’t forget about you, Tasha. Nor Clint, nor the rest of the Avengers.”

“Then why didn’t you come sooner?” Clint demanded, his voice harsh with suppressed emotion.

“By the time I recovered enough to be functional, months had passed. I didn’t know prior to then that you’d been told I was dead. When I found out, Fury ordered me to keep it to myself. They’d all told me that I had died but only briefly. Eight seconds was the official record, though some said it was forty seconds. In all cases, under a minute. I couldn’t even think about Tahiti for more than a minute or two. But I put it down to the trauma of nearly dying and months in recovery, and I trusted the system.”

Clint slowly nodded his understanding, with Natasha a little behind. “And when SHIELD fell?” she asked.

“I was so busy keeping my team together and alive, out of the hands of the US Military and HYDRA both, it just wasn’t a priority. And the more time passed… the more I wondered if it would be better to just leave things as they were. It was selfish, taking the path of least resistance, and for that I am sorry.”

“Coulson, they need to know,” Skye spoke up again. “What you remembered, what I heard from you…”

“Skye…” Coulson frowned, shaking his head. “What good would it do?”

Skye got up and moved over to Coulson, kneeling on the floor beside his chair. “What you went through was an excruciating and horrific process, and like it or not, it affected you. They need to know, so they can understand.”

“No. It won’t benefit anyone except maybe me.”

“What are you talking about?” Tony demanded. “I know people don’t always talk sense, but this is almost as bad as Fury and his double talk.”

“Coulson was kidnapped by HYDRA allies, trying to figure out the secret behind how he lived. They put him into a machine that stimulated memories, and that’s quite probably what triggered the Kree memories as well. He was kept conscious by the doctors in TAHITI while they went into his brain to change his memories.”

“Skye, stop,” Coulson pleaded with her.

She shook her head. “It’s bound to come up sometime, AC,” she said, reverting to her old nickname as she smiled sadly at him. “I still have nightmares about it once in a while, you know. Better to tell them all at once than for them to hear it later when I wake up crying.”

Coulson closed his eyes. “If they weren’t your soulmates…”

“Then this would all be a moot point. But my soulmates are here, and the rest of their team… their friends, and yours, once. They need to know.”

With a sigh, Coulson gave in. He nodded his permission for Skye to continue. She turned to face the others, her expression determined but her dark eyes terribly sad. “The memory machine HYDRA used made him remember the TAHITI treatment. I found him while he was in it, punched out the woman running the thing… and frantically tried to find a way to turn the damned thing off while Coulson shook with pain and relived his memories of begging the doctors to let him die. To just let him die, over and over again.” A tear tracked down her cheek and Coulson gently reached out and wiped it away for her.

The room was quiet for a moment as everyone took in that one little gesture of affection that spoke more about the bond between Coulson and Skye than any of them had ever anticipated.

A moment later, Natasha was across the room and pulling Coulson to his feet so she could hug him tightly. Her eyes sparkled with tears she wouldn’t let fall as she cursed at him in Russian, but she didn’t let him go. Clint followed her a moment later, and the trio hugged for longer than anyone except maybe Skye expected.

May moved into the room and helped Skye up to her feet, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes absently. The look on her face told Skye she’d done the right thing, and Skye just smiled a bit as she stepped out of the way.

The feeling of anger in the room was dissipating, and Skye nodded to herself. Bucky stepped over to her side and she leaned gratefully against him. “You did good, doll,” he whispered to her. “They needed that push.”

Skye agreed; after Natasha and Clint finally let Coulson go, Thor was the next to go in for a hearty embrace.

“All of Asgard mourned with me for the brave warrior who gave his life stopping my brother, Son of Coul,” he said, his usually mobile face drawn with remembered grief. “I am most pleased to know that you still live, however it came about.”

“I… thank you, Prince Thor,” Coulson managed.

Pepper also headed over for another hug, though she straightened Phil’s tie and collar when she let him go. “I’m glad you’re back, Phil. But if you ever do something like that again…”

“I’ll do my best not to, Pepper,” he said soothingly.

“Good.”

“I still want to hear how you became a Princess,” May told Skye with a smirk as she left the room. Probably to tell the others that everything was okay while Coulson shook hands with Tony, then Steve.

Not long after May left, the group headed out to the main lounge as well. Darcy and Jane had joined Skye’s team in the meantime, and a round of introductions took place as SHIELD and Avengers began to mingle.

After introductions, Tony made a beeline for the bar. With a small sigh, Skye followed him. He was pouring himself a second shot of scotch when she put her hand on his arm. “You okay?” she asked quietly.

“Not really. But I’ll get over it,” he answered promptly. Before he could toss back the second shot, Skye snagged a glass and poured herself one. “You alright, sweetheart?”

She smiled. “I’m fine. But I’m not about to let you drown your sorrows alone.”

Tony left the shots sitting on the bar as he pulled her into his arms. She went willingly, holding him tight and letting him bury his face in her hair while he took a few deep breaths. “You’re something else, Skyenet.”

“Coulson is the closest thing I’ve ever had to a father in my life. We needed to clear the air, completely; for him and for us and for Clint and Nat. It was the right thing to do.”

Tony smiled and kissed her gently. “My comment still stands.” He collected his glass and waited for her to pick up hers before moving away from the bar. He sipped his drink rather than shooting it, and Skye smiled approvingly as she did the same.

“What’cha drinkin, Skye?” Fitz asked curiously, studying the color of the alcohol in her glass. Skye glanced at Tony, not having read the bottle.

“Balvenie port cask 21,” Tony answered with a shrug. “I went to the cheap stuff.”

Fitz’s eyes went wide and Skye handed over her glass without a word. She watched, amused, as Fitz sipped reverently. “I’ve occasionally splurged on the 17 Double Wood, but I don’t often get something this smooth,” Fitz enthused. “It’s lovely.” Then he blushed, realizing who he was talking to. “Mr. Stark. It really is an honor to meet you.”

“Fitz, right?” Tony asked. “Skye’s told me about you. She said you’re a brilliant engineer.”

“I… well… she did, really?” Fitz stammered.

“Of course I did,” Skye interrupted. She held up her hand when Fitz tried to give her glass back. “Keep it, Fitz. You’re clearly enjoying it more than I was. I can get myself something else if you two want to talk shop.”

Fitz beamed at Skye and nodded enthusiastically. With another glance at Tony to be sure he’d be alright, she wandered back to the bar.

“Skye,” Pepper stopped her with a gentle touch. “I saw what you did with him,” she said, her eyes on where Tony and Fitz were talking animatedly. “Thank you.”

Skye shook her head. “You don’t have to thank me, Pepper. I’d do it again. In fact, I’ll likely have to.”

“He’s been much better lately, but it’s not hard to overindulge,” Pepper explained quietly. “And he’s very high functioning, even when he’s drunk. Just… be careful, please.”

“I promise.” Pepper smiled at that and stepped away, letting Skye return to her quest for another drink.

Skye joined Darcy as first Jemma, then Jane drifted over to Tony and Fitz to join in on the Science!Talk. She wondered if they’d wind up talking about the replacement prosthetic for Bucky that Fitz and Simmons had started designing but that Bucky had refused to discuss with them. “It’s hard loving a high end genius, sometimes,” Skye commented quietly. Darcy shot her a look but then nodded with a sheepish expression.

“Yeah. I used to think I was smart, but compared to Janey… well, there really _is_ no comparison,” Darcy admitted. “I can follow along a bit, and I’ve learned a lot since I started working with her. But she just makes these… these leaps of intuitive understanding, you know?”

Nodding sympathetically, Skye linked her arm with Darcy’s. “I get that all too well. I haven’t seen a lot of it from Tony yet, but I’ve lived and worked with Fitzsimmons for over two years now. Fitz doesn’t actually mean to be talking over people’s heads, it’s just how he thinks. Simmons is a little better with explanations, but I used to think she enjoyed being able to confuse people.”

“You don’t anymore?”

“No, not really. But Jemma is… very proud of her intelligence and her scientific accomplishments,” Skye hedged, not wanting to say anything unflattering about her friend and teammate. “She has multiple Ph.D.s, and when she was telling me about SHIELD Academy’s  Sci-Tech division, it was pointed out to me that you have to have at least one just to be accepted there. I was definitely just a guest; that was before I was even an agent.”

“How’d that go?” Darcy asked curiously.

“Not as bad as I thought, actually. With my knowledge of computers, I managed to convince most people that I was from Communications.”

“Cool!” Darcy grinned. “Since you didn’t go to SHIELD-school, mind if I ask where you went to college?” she inquired, changing the subject.

“I didn’t,” Skye replied with a shrug. “I ran away from the orphanage at sixteen and barely got my GED. Higher education was not in the cards.”

“Tough,” was all Darcy said. “Steve said - and you just mentioned - you’re great with computers, though. Self-taught?”

“Yeah. Started out in the library with some comp sci manuals on their public internet.”

“That’s still pretty impressive.”

Skye blushed. “Tony talked me into taking an IQ test. Apparently I’m pretty high on the scale, so maybe that explains it.”

“I am too, actually,” Darcy agreed with a nod. “I hit the genius scale, I just don’t live and breathe science like Jane does.”

“Skye!” Tony’s call kept her from responding to Darcy. “Come over here. We’ve got an idea!”

With a shrug, Skye and Darcy - still arm-in-arm - sauntered over to the science crowd. “What’s up?” Skye asked.

“We’ve got a brilliant idea!” Tony enthused. “We want to make you a pair of gauntlets that can help channel your power, and also prevent feedback into you!”

Jemma smiled brightly. “We thought it might be useful to have something that can prevent the vibrational overflow back into you, when the feedback gets too much for you.”

Skye raised an eyebrow. “That’s an interesting idea, but I haven’t had problems with feedback since Afterlife.”

“Tony told us that you can sense vibrations around you, all th’ time,” Fitz explained, his accent thickening slightly in his excitement. “We were worried that you could get overwhelmed. What if there was an earthquake, say? Or a hurricane, or a lightning storm?”

“Well, so far it would seem,” Skye began, only to be interrupted by Jemma.

“Skye, you were so badly hurt the last time it was too much for you,” she insisted. “We just want to find a way to make sure that can’t happen again.”

“I don’t think…”

“I mean, of course you haven’t really considered it,” Jemma pushed on, not wanting their idea shot down. “No one likes to remember that kind of pain.”

It was Darcy’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “You could let the woman get a word in edgewise,” she said sharply. “Given what I know about people with powers, you probably should trust her to know how they affect her.”

Jemma blinked, startled, as Fitz and Tony’s eyes shifted from Darcy to Jemma to Skye.

“Thanks, Darcy,” Skye said with a hint of a smile. “I was just gonna say that so far, evidence shows that I’m largely immune to shockwaves or feedback from my powers. I only had problems when I didn’t know how to control them or make the vibrations stop. I don’t have that issue anymore.”

“How do you know for sure, Skye?” Fitz asked curiously.

“When I was sparring with Thor the other day, I could shake the mats under our feet so he would fall. I never did.”

“You sparred with _Thor_?” Fitz’s voice rose to a startled squeak.

Skye grinned. “I’ve sparred with Thor, James, Sam, Clint and Natasha. Steve’s still hung up a bit on the possibility of hurting me, and Tony and I haven’t bothered. In his suit but without my powers, it’s not a contest. And I don’t want to break his suit with my powers, so…” She shrugged. Darcy watched Jemma quietly while Skye spoke. She noted the signs of a quick mind processing other things and not really listening to those speaking anymore; Jane did it all the time and was easily distracted from ordinary things in her passion for science, so Darcy was quite familiar with the hints that it was happening.

“And I’m not much of a fighter without the suit, at least in comparison to super soldiers and agents,” Tony admitted wryly. “Though I have gotten better.”

“What about something like a storm?” Jane finally chimed in. At least the conversation had her attention!

“I don’t know. We could go outside and ask Thor to call one?” she suggested cheekily.

Jane, Darcy and Tony laughed. Fitz just looked thoughtful. “That mightn’t be a bad idea, Skye. To see how it affects you.”

“Or if, say, the shockwave Thor tends to cause when he lands gives you problems,” Tony added when he calmed. He noted, though several of the others did not, that their discussion had drawn a larger audience.

Jane’s eyes went wide. “I wonder if you could contain the winds that the Bifrost causes?” she murmured aloud. “If the weather is volatile, sometimes it can turn things into a storm.”

Skye held up her hands. “I honestly don’t know. I’ve never played with storms, just little stuff. Glasses, mats on the floor, knocking people over or aside. And a mountain, once.”

“A mountain? You go, girl,” Darcy quipped and everyone laughed.

“Honestly, though, I don’t think I want to go around messing with the weather,” Skye said. “I mean, sure, if I were nearby and could stop a natural disaster, of course I would. Divert an earthquake so it doesn’t level a city, maybe. But earthquakes happen because pressure needs to be released somewhere, and if it doesn’t happen in one place it will almost surely happen somewhere else. Same with storms; I could maybe prevent one here but I might cause unseasonable rain someplace that would do more harm than good. I wouldn’t want to be guilty of unbalancing ecosystems!”

“It is very wise of you to understand this, Princess Skye,” Thor said, having heard enough of her thoughts to comment. “You will make a strong ruler of your people one day.”

“So, yeah, not to change the subject,” Hunter drawled. “But when did Skye become bloody royalty?”

Thor looked surprised. “You are aware that Skye’s mother was the leader of the Inhumans, correct?” he asked after a moment. The group nodded agreement. “Then by definition, she was their Queen. And as Skye is the only child of the Queen, she is therefore a Princess of the Inhumans. When she is successful at gathering the remaining Inhumans again into a single community, she will be their Queen.” Thor crossed his arms, satisfied by his own logic. Logic no one could actually dispute.

“Well, then, Princess,” Hunter said, sketching a mock-bow. “May I have permission to depart the Royal Presence for another drink?” He grinned.

“Oh, go on,” Skye responded, smacking his shoulder with her open hand. “Git.”

Everyone laughed and the group drifted apart again. Tony and Fitz started to talk about conductive properties of different materials, and the kind of properties they might need if Skye okayed their project.

Darcy stuck to Skye’s side as Jemma approached. “I’m sorry if we put you on the spot, Skye,” Jemma apologized with a smile. “You know how Fitz can be when inspiration strikes.”

“I know, and it’s fine,” Skye shrugged. “I get that you guys want to help, and I do appreciate it. I’m just not sure it’s necessary.”

“We just want to keep you from getting hurt again,” Jemma said softly, and Skye bit her lip. She hated seeing the people she cared for hurt, too, and she knew it was likely that using her powers in the field could result in future injuries. “I know the gloves we made for you at first didn’t help, but now that we have a better idea what we’re dealing with…”

“Maybe you should let Skye figure out what works for her, and wait for her to ask for help rather than pushing it on her?” Darcy suggested, unimpressed by the obvious guilt trip Skye was suffering from.

“What would you know about it? Skye’s powers are still a mystery to us after months of study…”

“What did you do, turn your friend into a lab rat? Sheesh, no wonder her soulmates are so protective of her if she came here from a situation like _that_!” Darcy’s voice was acidic.

“Of course not!” Jemma protested. “The quarantine was for her protection as much as anyone else’s, and the changes to her DNA were completely unbelievable…”

Steve beat Bucky to Skye’s side by a matter of seconds as Jemma’s voice rose. “You alright, doll?” he asked softly, just checking in without interrupting. Skye just nodded, wide-eyed, as Darcy continued to defend her.

“Wow,” Darcy responded. “She’s a person, not a science experiment. And I’m pretty sure a lot of people have heard the ‘locked up for your own good’ spiel. I hadn’t expected to hear it applied to a friend, though.”

“We had no idea what kind of contaminants the obelisk might have produced. Of the other people in there with her, one turned into a monster and the other _died…_ ” Jemma’s voice broke as she thought about Trip.

“Your teammate was there trying to protect Skye,” Bucky said softly, wrapping his arm around Skye protectively. She leaned against both him and Steve, just listening to her defenders with more shock than anything else. “Agents give their lives to protect people all the time, particularly people they care about. It was his choice, and certainly not Skye’s fault.”

“He was a good man, who died too soon,” Jemma said. “Regardless of fault.”

Skye shook herself, pulling herself together. “You blamed me, though,” she said. “Everyone did. Hell, even I did. If I hadn’t been down there, Trip wouldn’t have been either. Quarantine wasn’t about that, though. Everyone was angry and afraid.”

“We were grieving, Skye.”

“So was I!” Skye almost yelled; Jemma flinched back, startled. Skye lowered her voice, trying not to cause another mass-gathering scene. “Grieving. Alone, inside a glass cage. No human contact, no one to hug me or even pat my shoulder in sympathy. Listening to everyone tossing around blame, and people who believed I had become a threat to be contained or a virus to be eliminated!”

Despite her attempt to moderate her volume, Skye’s yell caught Jane’s attention. Worried about Darcy, given how quickly problems could spring up with opinionated people, she drifted over to the small group her girlfriend was part of. She didn’t say anything, just took a place beside Darcy and listened to the conversation continue, the better to understand what was going on.

“Over my dead body,” Steve growled, stepping closer to Skye and Bucky so she was protected in their arms. “No one is going to ‘eliminate’ you on the basis of a maybe. Ever.” He glared at Jemma, who shrunk into herself. She looked around, but the rest of her team was occupied with other groups.

Reminding herself mentally that she was an Agent of SHIELD, Jemma tried to brazen it out. “I didn’t say that Skye was a virus. I was concerned that whatever happened to her could cause an epidemic.”

Skye just stared back at her. “I’m not a doctor by any stretch. But I’m pretty sure the kind of genetic changes that the Diviner caused would _not_ start a plague. It took the combination of the temple and the Diviner to even activate, and even if what Raina told us was only half-true, it wouldn’t affect just anyone!”

“Besides,” Steve pointed out. “If it were a transmissible virus, wouldn’t everyone have been infected just getting Skye out of the Kree city? I mean, I’m no expert, but if it were that serious wouldn’t you have all been exposed before the quarantine even started?”

Jemma floundered for an answer as Darcy’s eyes went wide. “Virulent diseases are usually airborne. No one would’ve even had to touch her, just be nearby. Steve’s right, if it were that bad you’d all have had it before she could be quarantined.” Skye shot Darcy a glance and shrugged. “College required science credits; I studied some biology as well as working with Jane.”

“You mean it was completely unnecessary?” Skye asked, her voice just above a whisper as realization set in. “Days and days trapped in quarantine, when I didn’t even need to be?” Bucky held her tighter, responding to her distress with silent support.

“It’s standard procedure when one has been exposed to a possible biological weapon,” Jemma protested. “Director Coulson authorized it.”

“On your recommendation, probably,” Darcy theorized. “You’re supposed to be the expert after all, right?”

“Well, yes. I’m the team’s Bio-chem…”

Steve squeezed Skye’s hand gently, as Bucky had her all but wrapped up in a protective embrace; Skye still looked like she was about to cry and Darcy frowned. This wasn’t what she’d intended at all, but at the same time she wondered how long this had been simmering in the background. It had to have been a while, given how high tensions were running.

“What did this Diviner do that classed it as a possible bio-weapon?” Jane asked, her tone curious rather than heavy with tension the way Skye’s and Jemma’s were.

“It contained terrigen crystals, which catalyze the transformation of an Inhuman. Non-Inhumans who came into contact with it would die, turned to stone,” Skye explained in a low voice.

“But it took physical contact with the device?” Jane asked.

“Yeah, though HYDRA was trying to find a way to weaponize it.”

“Then it’s not a bio weapon,” Jane said. “By definition*, a biological weapon contains a pathogen or other biological agent that will affect masses and spread very quickly.”

“But we didn’t know,” Skye said with a sigh. “Guys it was an alien device, and we didn’t know what it was capable of.” She shifted a bit and Bucky loosened his hold, but neither he nor Steve released her completely.

“Fine, then quarantine the base. Limit exposure,” Darcy said with a shrug. “But just quarantining you was too little, too late, from the sounds of it.”

Skye shook herself mentally and shoved her emotions into the back of her mind. “Maybe so, yeah, but at this point it was almost a year ago. I’m stable, my powers are under control, and no one’s going to be eliminating me anytime soon. Certainly not without a fight. It’s not a disease, either, just an alien experiment that took on a life of its own in a way.”

Her soulmates began to relax as Skye pulled herself together again. She smiled her thanks to Jane and Darcy for supporting her, and Darcy’s return smile was a little sheepish.

“Everything alright over here?” Tony’s voice broke in; his sharp eyes took in the varying expressions on everyone’s faces, and then focused on Skye’s. Fitz trailed along after him, looking startled that something had diverted Tony’s attention. “Skyenet? You okay?”

“Yeah, Tony, I’m fine,” she assured him.

“‘Everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?’” Darcy quipped, tossing out the age-old Han Solo blunder to break the tension. Skye and Jane cracked up; Tony grinned in response.

“Better knowing that my guests and family are all getting along,” he replied, not too pointedly. Everyone nodded. “Good. Skyenet, have you shared with your friends your test results? You were so excited when you told Bucky and Steve.”

She shook her head. “No. Well, I told Darcy about it a bit.”

“Test results?” Jane asked, intrigued.

“Oh, nothing major. Tony had me sit down with an IQ test a couple of days ago. My results were… surprising,” Skye admitted.

“Skye’s even smarter than I am, Janey!” Darcy enthused. “She isn’t sciency like you and some of the others, either, so I’m not alone.”

“Do you know your score, Miss Darcy?” Fitz asked politely, curious about Skye’s result as well but waiting for her to share them. “I’m right on a borderline; 165,” he offered.

“Yeah, of course. I’m a 158, so solidly in genius range,” Darcy told him forthrightly. “Not in Jane’s class, or Tony’s probably. But definitely well above average. You don’t think Jane would put up with an intern who couldn’t understand at least some of the technobabble, do you?” Jane smiled but shrugged admission of the charge.

“Congrats,” Tony told Darcy with a smile. He glanced at Skye. “Well, sweetheart? Are you going to tell them, or should I?”

Skye blushed, on the spot but she knew Tony meant well. “My results came back at 174.”

“That’s amazing, Skye!” Fitz beamed at her, throwing his arms around her in a quick hug. “Must be why you’re such a great hacker. It’s all logic and language. Isn’t it great, Jemma?”

Jemma floundered for a moment, eyes wide in shock. “I… it’s… yes, yes, it’s wonderful. Congratulations, Skye.”

“Thanks. I didn’t expect it, but, well…” Skye shrugged. “Hacking’s not exactly easy, you know? Let alone getting in and out without being detected.”

Darcy held her hand up. “Fist bump for team Underestimated Minds!” Skye laughed and bumped her fist with Darcy’s, both of them flaring their hands out in a pretend explosion at the same time.

Tony grinned fondly at the two young women and shook his head. “Great minds, ladies. Great minds.”

* * *

* From wikipedia - Biological weapons (often termed "bio-weapons", "biological threat agents", or "bio-agents") are living organisms or replicating entities (viruses, which are not universally considered "alive") that reproduce or replicate within their host victims.

From Merriam-Webster - Medical Definition of biological weapon: a harmful biological agent (as a pathogenic microorganism or a neurotoxin) used as a weapon to cause death or disease, usually on a large scale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For everyone who loves the Jemma/Skye friendship in the show... don't worry, they will talk things out. I haven't messed that up forever, so please don't hate me! *hides*
> 
> This is the longest chapter of this story, but there really wasn't a good way to break it up without having a couple of really heavily serious chapters in a row. Plus, it hopefully makes up for late posting due to US holidays.


	11. All The Small Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Working out details so the teams can move ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. Everyone's reactions to the last chapter were way better than I expected! Thank you, everyone, for your thoughtful comments and understanding.
> 
> Please note: Though I have included Daredevil characters in this story, I don’t actually follow the series and this story takes place outside of their canon storyline.

It wasn’t until after dinner that evening that Skye and her soulmates sat down with Coulson and May privately. Skye was a little nervous; they were going to have to make some decisions that would affect her future. Both with SHIELD and with her soulmates. And it had already been a day full of emotional highs and lows; Skye wasn’t sure how much more she could handle in one day.

“I guess the best place to start is with one question,” Coulson said with a hint of a smile. “Skye? What do you want?”

“I don’t really want to leave SHIELD,” Skye began, her mind racing. “But my soulmates are based here, and I’m definitely not willing to give them up either.”

Coulson nodded. “I more or less expected that answer,” he said. “So here’s what I’ve been thinking about. We previously discussed the idea that when we begin finding Inhumans, we would try recruiting them to a new team. A covert operations group of people with powers. In order for that group to avoid potential overlaps or conflicts with the Avengers, we would like the teams to liaise with each other. Set up terms of cooperation that would determine who has jurisdiction over which issues.”

Steve nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense. Natasha has complained more than once that the Avengers aren’t subtle enough for her; having another team we could cooperate with when we need those skills would probably please her.”

“I’m sure it would. Skye, as team leader for the Inhumans, I would put you in charge of cooperating with the Avengers as well.”

Skye shrugged. “At this point, unless I never talk about work with my soulmates - which I don’t see going over well - I’m pretty sure we’ll be discussing things anyway. It’s fine with me.”

“Sergeant Barnes,” Coulson transferred his attention to Bucky. “The last time we spoke, you were uncertain about what you wanted to do going forward. Given the circumstances, you probably don’t need SHIELD. But the offer to join us and work with Skye is still there, if you want it.”

Bucky traded looks with Steve before nodding slowly. “I think we’d all be more comfortable if at least one of us were regularly on missions with Skye. Not that I don’t think her team would watch her back, mind, just that…”

“My soulmates appear to have overprotective tendencies,” Skye finished for him, rolling her eyes.

“Never hurts to have people you trust at your back,” May said with a slight smile.

“We’re not overprotective, sweetheart,” Tony protested. Skye just looked at him with an eyebrow raised and gently set one hand on her stomach over her scars; when that didn’t seem to do it, she also tapped the side of her head. Tony scowled, then shrugged. “Alright, point taken.”

Skye smirked and returned her attention to Coulson. “In all honesty, DC, if something comes up that needs the Avengers… if I’m here, I’ll likely be right there with them.”

“That’s fine with me. If something comes up that needs the Avengers, I won’t stop you or your team from helping them. It’ll be your call, between you four most likely. As long as you do your best to keep your team as covert as you can for as long as possible.”

“Depending on what kind of powers we run into, it’s possible that we might be mistaken for other Avengers anyway,” Skye answered with a shrug of her own. “Lincoln’s power would probably be attributed to Thor, if no one saw him. If I use them right, my vibrations and Tony’s repulsors leave similar evidence - or lack thereof, sometimes.”

“I would prefer to find you a base of your own, however,” Coulson continued with a nod of acceptance. “You don’t have to live on base, though I’d like an option for your team to be able to if need be.”

“What if we bought up one of the old, empty warehouses?” Tony suggested. “Renovated so that there’s a base underneath?”

May raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t we right on top of the water table here? Is that even safe?”

Tony shrugged. “We can make it safe if it isn’t already. The island is pretty stable. And if we’re on the Jersey side of Manhattan, we could just go down into the bedrock under the channel.”

They hashed out a few of the more complicated logistics, though it was all theoretical until they actually found a building. “Do we have the resources for this?” Skye asked hesitantly, her eyes firmly on Coulson.

“We’re better off than we were, now that the rift between us and Morse’s group has closed. But it might take us a while.”

“I’d imagine SHIELD is pretty underfunded since the government no longer recognizes you,” Tony spoke up. “I’d be willing to fund the development of your base in exchange for some time with your scientists,” he offered. “Couple of projects that I haven’t been able to finish since Bruce decided to revisit the Third World.”

Coulson shook his head. “I can’t accept that, at least not to allow you to fully fund it...”

“Who spearheaded the refurbishing of the helicarrier that bailed us out in Sokovia?” Steve asked suddenly.

“We did. It was being handled under Theta Protocol, in case it was needed.”

“Then I’d say that we owe you, because that protocol saved a helluva lot of people,” Steve said firmly.

“But…” Coulson protested. Skye and May were smiling, though, so he shook his head. “Alright, if that’s how you want it. But just as you believed the Avengers shouldn’t be under the control of any one organization or government, SHIELD needs to remain independent of the Avengers as well.”

“We understand that,” Tony agreed with a nod.

“Alright,” Coulson agreed again. “Skye, who do you need to set up shop here once we have a place?”

“Lincoln, of course,” she began thoughtfully. “Alicia, if she’ll agree to it. She’s a nurse, as well as an Inhuman so that gives us medical support. We’ll definitely need Andrew’s assistance in evaluating and stabilizing people freaking out about new powers, but we can be flexible on that because I assume he’d rather be living in proximity to May.” She winked at her SO, but May’s face remained blank with just a hint of amusement in her eyes.

“I’d really like Mack, if he’d come. We will need someone to run back end and help keep us grounded. Maybe one of the Koenigs for administration purposes?”

“There’s no one better at administration, and I think they’re bored now that Theta Protocol is complete,” Coulson agreed. “I’ll talk to the Koenigs when we return. You can ask Mack yourself, if you’d like.”

“Sure. How’s Zephyr One coming along?”

“Just about done, and probably right on time. I’ll allocate you a couple of pilots and a quinjet. Zephyr won’t be able to land here, but we can probably make some arrangements for the containment pods at your base.”

“What, something like the hangar doors under the river in DC?” Steve asked skeptically.

“I’ve heard worse ideas,” Coulson replied. “But we’ll see.”

“Honestly, if Andrew and Jemma are staying at the Playground, having containment units route there initially isn’t a terrible option anyway. We can always fly in if we need to; it’s only a few hours away by jet,” Skye commented.

“Containment pods?” Bucky asked.

Skye made a face. “When I first was learning my powers, I locked myself in the Cage on the Bus - our plane, sorry - so that if I got out of control I couldn’t hurt anyone. The Cage was designed as a containment unit, using tech that could keep the Hulk contained if necessary. While I don’t like the idea of keeping people locked up, it may be reassuring to them to know that they can’t hurt anyone while we teach them control.”

“What was happening, Skye?” Steve asked quietly.

Skye looked down at her hands. “I was causing earthquakes,” she admitted. “We thought at first that was the only thing my power was affecting. Turned out that it was just the easiest, and when my emotions were out of control I could shake the whole base.”

“You got it under control, Skye,” May reminded her. “That’s what really matters.”

“We’re making small containment units that can be deployed from Zephyr One to a homing beacon placed by an Agent,” Coulson explained after a moment. “When the unit is occupied, it will return to the plane to be taken to one of our bases. Ideally, the bases will have larger units set up as temporary accommodations until our guests are in control of their powers.”

Both Steve and Bucky frowned. “That hardly sounds… deserved,” Steve said. “Surely people can be talked to, reasoned with?”

“Possibly, and if that’s true then we won’t need the pods,” Coulson agreed.

“And I don’t intend to coerce anyone into them, either,” Skye added. “But if they’re freaking out over a power they can’t control, well, I would like to get them into a place where they can calm down and also limit collateral damage.”

“What if these people want nothing to do with SHIELD?” Bucky asked, his tone low and gruff.

“Then once they have control of their new gifts, we’ll let them return home. They can go back to their lives, if that’s what they want,” Coulson said calmly.

“We can discuss this further when the base is up and running,” Tony finally broke in. “Not much we can really do either way before then. So the first step is to find you a building, right?”

\-----

Skye and her soulmates were just about to the elevator, heading for their floor to call it a night when a soft voice called to Skye.

“Skye, wait,” Jemma said, her voice small and full of an emotion Skye couldn’t quite put a single name to. “Can we… can we talk, please? Privately?”

Skye stared at Jemma thoughtfully for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah. Go on up without me, guys,” she said over her shoulder. “I’ll be there in a bit.”

Jemma held out her hand hesitantly and Skye took it readily; together, they walked over towards the big picture window overlooking the city. Jemma was quiet as they sat down, biting her lip and looking troubled.

“What’s up, Jems?” Skye asked, deliberately using the nickname she’d adopted from Fitz back in the early days of the team.

“I… I owe you an apology, Skye. Perhaps more than one. What happened earlier… made me realize that you became a victim of my fear. I was… I was grieving for Trip, afraid for the team against HYDRA, worried about what you’d been through… You got caught in the fallout, and I’m so sorry Skye.”

Skye sat quietly for a moment, though she still held Jemma’s hand. “I can’t deny that it hurt. I can’t say that being rejected by the team I’d started to think of as family wasn’t horrible. Especially since it was over something I never asked for and couldn’t control.” Skye took a deep breath and let it out slowly, staring out at the cityscape rather than at her friend. 

“No one grieved for Trip more than me, you know. I know that you found him, and that hurt… But Jemma, I watched him die. Right in front of me. I was being covered in stone, creeping over my body, when he destroyed the Diviner. It’s ironic that it looked at first like the mist itself wasn’t affecting him; he died because the shrapnel hit him when he broke the damned thing.” Silent tears ran down Skye’s face at the memory. “We’d been a team for months, you know. While you were at HYDRA, DC sent us on missions together with May.”

“Skye, I…” Jemma began, then stopped as she realized that excuses wouldn’t fix things. “Trip used to flirt with me, you know? I wondered a time or two if he was going to ask me out.”

Skye chuckled wryly. “Trip flirted with everyone, Jems. Not seriously, just lightly. It might have been more serious with you; I don’t know, I wasn’t there. But the way you knew he cared was that he’d look at you and smile in a way that made you feel that smile was special, just for you.”

“I remember. He was always so warm, caring and protective without being overbearing.”

“He was my partner on the team,” Skye went on with a fond smile of remembrance. “My best friend while you were gone and Fitz was so badly hurt; my brother. If it hadn’t been for my soulmarks, maybe he could have been something more. We’ll never know, anyway. And it was my fault he died.”

“Oh, Skye… it wasn’t. And it was mostly my fault you felt that way.” Jemma scooted a little closer, resting her free hand on Skye’s arm. Skye sighed and leaned into Jemma, resting her head on Jemma’s shoulder. 

“He was there because he wanted to protect me. I was so shocked, I asked what he was doing there. And I’ll never forget the way he looked at me when he said, ‘I came to get you out.’” She sighed. “He was the last thing I saw before I was completely cocooned. I wasn’t exactly blind, though; I could kind of sense what was happening outside the shell. So I know that the image of my face in the stone was the last thing he saw before it took him. And the look of resignation on his face was heartbreaking.” 

Jemma lifted her hand to her mouth, stifling a sob. Skye just continued to let the tears run silently down her face; they didn’t even affect her voice as she spoke. “He died trying to save me. I can only hope that he’s in Heaven, or Thor’s Valhalla, maybe. That he’s watching us, and is happy knowing that I did survive. He didn’t need to die in there, but he gave his life protecting someone he… he loved. And that’s not such a bad way to go.”

“Do you remember the story he told us, about how he and his cousin Sharon got stuck at the top of a tall tree because one of the branches broke?” Jemma ventured as they started to calm down together in the quiet.

Skye smiled. “Yeah. It was too far to the next one, and they were caught. His mom had to call the fire department because they didn’t have a ladder tall enough.”

“And then one of the former commandos taught them how to test branches to be sure they’d support their weight before climbing higher,” Jemma finished. “He liked to talk about his grandfather’s friends, and how much he learned from them.”

“I’ve started hearing some of the same war stories Trip told, but from Steve and James’ point of view. Sometimes they sound so different that it takes me a while to realize I’m hearing something I already knew about. But it’s interesting.”

“I bet it is. I am really happy for you that you found your soulmates, Skye,” Jemma said with a small smile. “They’re good for you. They give you something the team never really did, not completely. Whatever you do, they support you without question.”

Skye nodded. “Yeah, they do. And sometimes it’s a little overwhelming. They care so much, and we’re not even fully bonded yet. James is the most familiar with what I can do; he’s usually okay with letting me fight my own battles, but he’ll always be there to back me up. Tony’s most supportive of my mind, of my work with computers and my hacking. He really gets it, and though Steve and James are getting better with tech… some of what we do, I think, will always be beyond them. They can appreciate it, but they’ll never be able to do it. Steve is hands down the most protective, the most concerned about hurting me accidentally and the quickest to jump to my defense if something happens. But he hasn’t ever really seen me in action, either. I’m hoping he’ll mellow a bit once he realizes that I really can hold my own.”

“I’m sure he will, Skye. You haven’t even been here for two weeks, and everything is so new. Give it time.”

“I will. I worry about them, too, so I get it. I’m not really cut out to be an Avenger, and I’m sure I’ll have my hands full when I have a full team of my own. But I’m pretty sure I’ll be caught up in both anyway, because I won’t want them to be out there fighting without me.”

“If something happens, and you need me…”

“I’m trying to get better about asking for help,” Skye admitted. “If something comes up, I’ll call. And if I don’t, Steve probably will anyway.”

Jemma started to giggle, and Skye joined in after a minute. It wasn’t perfect, but things were better between them. Jemma had started to understand, and Skye could start to forgive. It would take them time, but for the moment Skye was glad to have her Jemma back.

\-----

When Skye got back to the floor she shared with her soulmates, they all met her at the elevator. Not a word was said, they just wrapped her up in a group embrace.

“I take it you got nosy and were listening?” Skye asked with a resigned sigh.

“Yes,” Bucky said before Tony could protest.

“It’s alright. You’re my soulmates; I expect that at some point none of us will have any secrets from the others. Soulbonds are like that.”

“You alright?” Steve asked in a low voice.

“Yeah. But it’s been a long day with a lot of emotional upheaval. Can we go crash, please?”

With a sigh of resignation, first Tony and then Steve released her. But Skye just smiled and took their hands; gathering Bucky along with a look, she tugged them down the hall to the room that had never before been used.

\-----

It took a few days and several visits to potential locations before they found one they thought would work as the front for a hidden base. Ironically for Skye, it was located back in her old neighborhood - Hell’s Kitchen. It was right on the water, though, and even had a water-level bay door. Probably when most of whatever it stored was shipping by boat.

So the business front set up by Skye and Coulson and funded by Tony bought the warehouse. A few days later, construction teams arrived to begin work; renovations and deferred maintenance were of course necessary on a building that old, which was all the explanation needed for their presence. Once the initial area of the base was habitable, the crews working on its expansion could just stay there and minimize exposure to the neighbors.

Since she was in the neighborhood, Skye dropped into Murdock & Nelson a few times to have lunch with Matt. The second time she decided to just stop by, she had Hunter and Bobbi with her. Neither of Skye’s teammates so much as batted an eyelash upon discovering that Matt was blind. They didn’t even get in the way when Skye and Matt did their usual thing of providing help the other didn’t actually need.

Matt also seemed just as amused by the way Hunter and Bobbi bickered as Skye usually was. Skye tended to find Hunter’s dry Brit humor very funny and Bobbi just had a way with people that made lunch a fun time for everyone.

A few days later, the four of them managed to fit in one more lunch before the SHIELD team finally headed back to the Playground.

“We’ll give you a call the next time we’re in town,” Bobbi promised as they said goodbye. “This was fun, and we’d like to meet up again sometime.”

“I’d like that,” Matt said agreeably. “Skye can probably coordinate for us, but she can give you my number if she’s not going to be around.”

“I’ll get it from her later, mate,” Hunter said with a smile. 

Skye gave Matt a hug before they left the office. “Once the new work location gets settled, I may be in and out a bit more. But I’ll see you again soon.”

“Take care, Skye,” Matt said, smiling fondly. “I’m around if you need me.”

“You’ve got it.”

As the trio left the office, Foggy sidled up to Matt. “She’s cute.”

Matt scoffed. “I wouldn’t know, would I?”

Foggy rolled his eyes. “She is, though. You always seem to end up with pretty girls, somehow. I dunno how you do it. And she seems to like you a lot. She’s been by, what, three or four times in the past week or two?”

“She’s an old friend, Foggy,” Matt said with a small smile. “Nothing more.”

“Uh huh. Sure she is. Because you put down work to go have lunch with just any old friend.” Matt shrugged. “Okay, Matt. Just a friend. Sure.”

“If you must know, she’s from the orphanage. We grew up together; she was there before I was, though she’s younger than me. She’s more like a little sister than anything.”

That made Foggy pause. “She doesn’t seem like it,” he said finally.

“She’s had a tough time, she just hides it well. That’s Skye for you.”

“Is that why you never..?”

“Skye has soulmates, man. Even if I’d wanted to, it wouldn’t have worked. We’re just friends, always have been.”

“Bummer. She really is cute.”

\-----

Once they were safely inside the Tower, Bobbi turned to Skye. “So what’s up with Matt?” she asked curiously.

“Up?” Skye repeated, confused.

“We noticed it. You had to have, too,” Hunter said, which clarified exactly nothing for Skye. So she just waited for them to continue. “He doesn’t move like most blind men do.”

Skye blinked. “I guess I don’t know that many blind men. He’s always moved the same for as long as I can remember.”

“His reactions are odd, too,” Bobbi clarified. “He reacts to things that he can’t see and I can’t hear.”

Skye thought about it for a moment. “Maybe his hearing is just more sensitive to compensate? I mean, I’ve never been able to sneak up on him. He always heard me coming even when I thought I was completely quiet.”

“How did he lose his sight? He does react like someone who could see once,” Hunter commented.

“Chemical accident when he was a kid. That was before he came to the orphanage, though.”

“Could the chemicals have affected him in other ways?” Bobbi asked.

Skye shrugged. “As far as I’m aware, no one knows exactly what the chemicals were. I suppose it’s not impossible, but unless you want to ask him about it and maybe get him to let us run tests, there’s no way to know. I personally wouldn’t want to try; it would only bring up bad memories for him.”

“Okay,” Bobbi agreed, holding up her hands. “Just… maybe give it some thought. We can be here to help him, if he ever needs it.”

“I don’t think he does, but I’ll keep my eyes open,” Skye said with a sigh. “One of these days I need to talk to him alone, anyway. He knows about Steve, but we’ve never been anywhere that we can discuss my soulmates openly so he doesn’t know about James and Tony.”

“How does he know about one and not all three?” 

“We used to talk about Captain America when I was a kid. I was able to give him a reference he understood without having to use names in public.”

Hunter grinned. “Not bad, kid. Not bad at all.”

Skye just laughed.


	12. SHIELD in New York

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye sets up her team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always to NerdyKat for being an awesome beta.
> 
> Also, the start of this chapter is for the couple of people who asked for post-smut snuggles if I wasn't going to write smut into this one...

Skye purred in contentment, wrapped mentally and physically in the warmth of her soulmates. Her body was pleasantly sated, and she wanted nothing more than to snuggle into the comforting presences around her.

“I like this bond thing,” Tony said aloud; much like Skye’s, his mind never completely stopped working. He was always analyzing something, but as long as he didn’t move Skye didn’t care.

“It’s amazing,” Steve agreed. “Especially when we’re like this and everyone is calm and happy.”

“I dunno,” Bucky said teasingly. “I liked it ten minutes ago when everyone was excited and on the edge too.” 

“That’s not… dammit Buck! You jerk.”

“Punk.”

Skye just laughed at their antics. Only Steve could get embarrassed about sex five minutes after they finished. She felt Tony’s chest rise beneath her head as he chuckled with her. They were tangled together in a pile, all connected to each other in various ways. It was perfect.

“Does anyone else feel an odd buzzing sensation?” Steve asked suddenly.

“Oh… that’s me. Sorry, Steve,” Skye said quietly. “Is it bad?”

“Nah, just a soft kind of humming,” Bucky said. “I feel it too. It’s way in the background, though.”

“What’s it from?” Tony asked.

“When I first got my power, it felt like a million bees all humming under my skin. I don’t notice it much anymore, though.”

“We’ll get used to it,” Steve assured her. “It’s not painful or even really overt. I just wondered if I was imagining it. It’s worth it, to have our bond.”

“The feeling of connection is nice,” Skye agreed, settling again. “None of us will ever be completely alone again.”

“And you can’t imagine what a relief that is,” Bucky agreed.

“I think we all have some understanding of how that feels. Not the same as you, but enough,” Steve demurred.

“We all have our own experiences to draw from,” Skye said with a shrug. “But no sad memories right now. I’m basking.”

Tony smiled fondly, running his fingers through her long hair, where it spread across his chest. “You look like a cat, all sprawled out in the sun and enjoying the warmth.”

“Sounds lovely, though I’m plenty warm enough. Super soldier metabolism turns them into furnaces,” she teased gently.

“We should go to the beach,” Tony mused thoughtfully. “I’d love to see you turn all golden in the sun. Get our pale soldiers some color too, maybe.”

“Sounds like fun, though the punk, here, is gonna get burned,” Bucky chimed in.

“That’s what sunscreen is for,” Skye answered automatically. “We’ll make sure he stays covered with it.” She ran her hand over Steve’s back and winked, grinning. “But if we’re going to the beach together, I think I want a nicer bikini. The better to tempt you all with,” she added, laughing.

“As if you weren’t temptation enough all by yourself,” Steve replied, arching into her soft touch for a moment.

“If we go to Malibu, you won’t need a suit, sweetheart. I own like a five mile stretch of beach.”

“Oooh… even better.” Since they had bonded, Skye had become completely unselfconscious of her body around them. They knew her inside and out, scars and all; what difference did a layer or two of clothes make? 

Her lack of inhibition amused Tony and often made Steve blush. But she noticed that none of them ever looked away, so she figured they’d all adjust.

“So, Malibu?” Tony asked.

“I thought that house got blown up?” Skye asked, her tone a mix of curiosity and sympathy.

Tony made a face, and Skye pressed closer for a moment in sympathy. “It did,” he responded brusquely, glossing over the incident. Skye noticed, but didn’t say anything as he went on. “Built a new one, a little further up the shoreline. Nice and cosy. Still has steps down to the beach, though. Wanna see it?”

“I do. Next vacation, promise. Can’t really go away while the base is in flux,” she said with a sigh. “Besides, it gives me time to get all of you to promise to go skinny dipping with me.”

“I promise,” Tony said, grinning as she laughed.

“You have no shame. I wasn’t worried about you,” Skye answered, still laughing.

“I’ll go skinny dipping with you, doll. Maybe even take you out at night, under the stars. I bet it’s a good look for you,” Bucky said, fingers finding hers and curling gently together.

“Flatterer.” Skye blushed but smiled at him.

“Fine, you win,” Steve groaned, his face bright pink and his heart pounding because despite himself he couldn’t help but imagine the scenes their words invoked. “We’ll go skinny dipping. But I agree with Skye, we have to let things settle down here first,” he added, mentally telling his body to behave.

“Damn. So no calling up the jet for next week?” Tony kept teasing.

“Much as I might like that… no, not next week.” Skye sighed. “Some of us don’t have a Pepper to delegate to. Have to handle our own jobs like responsible grown-up people.”

“But that’s no fun,” Tony mock-pouted, and they all laughed. 

\-----

Skye sat in the public lounge, working on her tablet after lunch. Tony had offered her an office of her own, but she just shrugged it off. Her work was mostly mobile, and she’d have an office at the base eventually. If she needed to work at home, anywhere she could set up her laptop and tablet was fine.

She knew Clint was in the ducts above her, but unless he drew attention to himself she pretended she was unaware. They respected each other that way; Clint would often watch over people or listen in, but he wouldn’t read over her shoulder either.

The clicking of heels on the floor behind her made Skye look up. “Agent Hill,” she greeted the older woman politely.

“Agent Skye,” she responded automatically, just by rote. Then she did a doubletake and backtracked to Skye. “What are you still doing here?” she asked in a low voice. “Is that SHIELD issue equipment? What are you doing with that out?” she demanded, too quickly for Skye to get a word in.

Maria started to pace. “I have put a lot of work into keeping SHIELD’s secrets despite working for SI now,” she hissed in a low voice, clearly agitated.

“We know that. But…”

“I’ve worked far too hard to let some up and coming agent ruin it all,” she spat out, with every line of her figure screaming ‘senior agent giving a dressing down.’ “I don’t care how good you are, there’s no way to keep secrets from Stark for long if you’re sitting around working on SHIELD projects in the lounge!”

Clint suddenly dropped down from the ceiling landing a few feet away. “Hill, relax, give the poor girl a chance to explain,” he said placatingly, doing his best to keep his expression neutral. Skye set her tablet down on the table next to her laptop, screens cleared and locked securely. She had shut things down while Maria was ranting and now just watched quietly.

“I don’t want her to explain,” Hill said with a glare at Clint. “I want to know what the hell she’s still doing here!”

Clint raised an eyebrow. “You know it’s Stark’s home, right?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Tony’s one of my soulmates,” Skye spoke up, earning herself a glare that turned into a look of shock.

“He can’t be,” Hill denied.

Skye blinked. “Why not?”

“Pepper told me one evening that her relationship with Tony is a cover to keep Steve and Tony’s relationship quiet.”

“And that means she can’t be his soulmate, why?” Clint asked, amused.

“Oh, don’t you get in on this,” Maria scowled at Clint. “I’m more than aware of your games in the past, you know.”

“It’s still a valid question. Why can’t he be my soulmate?”

“Because he and Steve are, and Steve admitted that Bucky has been his since they were young!”

“Still not following your logic,” Skye said calmly. Clint just grinned.

“Triads are extremely rare, you know. There hasn’t been a record of a person born with more than two soulmarks in almost a hundred years. And even then, how the hell would Tony have kept multiple soulmarks quiet for all his years of screwing around?” she demanded.

Skye rolled her eyes. “There’s also no record of my birth anywhere at all. All my papers were created for me when I was dropped at the orphanage.”

“I know. They were created by SHIELD,” Maria tossed back at her. “It’s in your file.”

“Well, then someone messed up,” Skye shrugged. “I have three soulmarks. Had them all my life. It’s not my fault your people didn’t record it. Trust me, I wouldn’t make that up. The nuns at the orphanage were ridiculous about it. I mean, from their viewpoint, what kind of girl winds up with  _ three men _ as soulmates?”

“A really energetic one?” Clint tossed out, teasing Skye. She grinned back. “Or given who your soulmates are, one with more patience than God?”

“But… there’s just no record of it!” Maria protested.

Skye sighed and stood up. The mark on her arm was already visible, as she wore short sleeves. When she stood, the one on her leg peeped out from the bottom hem of her skirt. And she tugged her waistband down just enough to show the one on her hipbone. “There. Satisfied?”

Maria looked astounded and Clint couldn’t help but laugh. It was like all her anger just evaporated, and Maria slumped into a nearby chair. “Really? You’re really all soulmates?”

Skye nodded. “Yeah, we are. I’m surprised SHIELD missed Steve’s third mark, though.”

“I expect it got missed because it’s probably somewhere private,” Clint offered. Skye thought about it, then nodded a bit. “There you go.”

“How are you going to keep SHIELD secrets from your soulmates?” Maria asked.

Skye shrugged. “I’m not.”

Before Maria could react badly, Clint came to her rescue. “Coulson and May just left yesterday,” he said. “What she tells us is Skye’s call, now, for the most part.”

Maria blinked at the lack of shock from Clint. “You knew?”

“Tasha figured it out first. But yes, we knew.”

“And you let me go on thinking it was a secret anyway?”

“You and Fury kept it from them,” Skye said quietly. “Why should they tell you they knew?”

“I… suppose that’s fair.”

“He was in and out of the HUB, Maria. Not exactly low profile,” Clint added.

“Damn. Has someone told Fury? Because I’m not taking the fall for this one.”

Skye rolled her eyes. “If he shows up, we’ll talk to him. Steve might have a thing or two to say to him anyway.”

“He’s not the only one, darlin’,” Clint grumbled.

“You people are a threat to logistical planners everywhere,” Maria quipped, but she was smiling now.

“I blame Tony,” Clint replied immediately.

“You’re probably not wrong,” Maria answered with a sigh.

“Could be worse,” Skye offered sympathetically. “You could still be trying to wrangle them into SHIELD protocols.”

“And thank goodness I’m not anymore! If you plan to try, I wish you the best of luck.”

“Nah. The tactician and the critical thinker of the Avengers are my soulmates. I’m pretty sure I can handle this.”

“Don’t get your hopes up, darlin’.”

\-----

Later that afternoon, Tony found Skye still working. “Hey, sweetheart. Got a few minutes?”

“Sure,” she agreed, locking the screens again. “What’s up?”

“Come with me, please?” He asked. So she got up and followed him to the elevator.

“What’s going on, Tony?” Skye asked curiously. He was almost bouncing on his toes; excitement or impatience, she wasn’t sure which.

“You’ll see in a minute. It’s a surprise!”

Skye leaned against the elevator wall, watching Tony in amusement. A moment later, the elevator doors opened to reveal a garage level. “Are we under the tower?” she asked.

“Yeah, second level down. The first level down is public and employee parking.”

“Nice. So what’s up?”

“This!” Tony grabbed her hand and pulled her over to a brand new, heavy looking SUV. It was a deep blue with chrome accents. The windows were lightly tinted, just enough for privacy without being super conspicuous - though in New York City, tinted windows were pretty common. Anywhere else, though… “The windows are all bulletproof glass, and after I bought it, I installed extra armor plating to the doors and other vulnerable spots.”

“Cool,” she said, still not following him.

“It’s for you, Skye. To take to work and whatever. Your base isn’t in the safest neighborhood, you know.”

Skye just stared at him, speechless for a moment. “I… wow. I totally wasn’t expecting this. I just… thank you.”

Tony beamed at her. “You’re welcome. You’re on the list of people who can tap my drivers, too, if you want. I know you’re not used to driving in the city.”

“Well, not this city at least,” she agreed. “And this city has unique quirks.” Privately, she didn’t think she’d be driving to the base regularly at all. It wasn’t that far, but it would take twice as long to drive as to walk; between her powers and Bucky working with her, she should be safe enough walking. Still, it was a nice thought and she’d always believed it was the thought that counted.

“It sure does. So you really like it?”

She smiled. “Yeah, I really do. And if it’s reinforced and armored, it could come in handy on missions too.”

“That was my thought, too. And it’s not SHIELD’s standard black. You know a collection of all-black SUVs anywhere was never the most subtle… even without the SHIELD logos.”

Skye laughed. “You’re not entirely wrong there, either. It’s great, really Tony. I appreciate it. It’s even my color.”

“Skye blue?” he said, smirking. “I thought about a brighter color, but thought you’d prefer something a little less flashy.”

“Mmm, you’re not wrong. Maybe we can think about it if I need a flashy car for something.”

“Just say the word, sweetheart. A Skye-blue convertible wouldn’t be a difficult thing to come by…”

“I’ll think about it,” she promised. “You wanna show off the bells and whistles on this one, for now?” she asked. “I’m sure it’s got a bunch, knowing you.”

“You betcha…” Tony grabbed the keys from a box on the wall and proceeded to show her all the “toys” included with the vehicle - some factory-installed, and some Tony-installed.

Skye just listened, smiling slightly. Not so much over the car itself, but over the obvious effort and enthusiasm Tony had put into converting it for her. As much as she wanted to be annoyed by the less than subtle attempt at extra protection for her, and as much as she thought she was unlikely to use it the way Tony intended… it had been a long time since anyone had put so much into something meant for her benefit.

Tony was still chattering explanations when she shifted across the center console to sit on his lap. She silenced him with a kiss and his hands immediately found their way into her hair. When they parted she just smiled at him, hoping the kiss had said everything she didn’t know how to put into words. 

She thought it had when Tony just gave her a soft smile, not his usual bright for-the-cameras grin but a smile full of gentle emotion. She smiled back and let him pull her close for a second kiss. “Thank you,” she whispered when they came up for air. She stayed in his lap and just let him hold her comfortably for a few moments more.

“Anything for you, sweetheart,” he murmured into her hair.

And she knew he meant it. Anything. A heady thought for a girl who had spent her life fighting for what little she had.

\-----

When the initial phase of base construction was completed, including basic living accommodations for her initial team, Skye and Bucky made a short trip back to the Playground. She knew she needed to speak with the people who would be her team, and to make sure everyone was alright with the changes.

“Thanks for coming, guys,” she said with a smile as she looked around the small conference room. With them were Lincoln, Alicia, Mack and Billy; everyone settled with a bottle of water or cup of coffee. Mack had even brought her a cup, in her own special mug, which made her smile her thanks.

“So, what’s up, Tremors?” Mack asked with a smile. Then he frowned a bit. “I hope you’re not here to tell us you’re leaving SHIELD.”

“Not at all,” she answered, her tone reassuring. “But there are going to be some changes and I thought we should discuss them.” She looked around at everyone, but saw no signs of distrust. “I’m sure you all know by now that James and I found our other two soulmates in New York.”

“We did hear that, and congratulations to you both,” Alicia said with a warm smile. 

“Did you happen to hear who they are?” Skye asked curiously.

“We assumed one of them was Steve Rogers,” Lincoln said with a shrug. “It’s not taught in history or anything, but Steve and Bucky were reportedly extremely close. It’s not a huge jump.”

Bucky nodded. “You’re not wrong. And the other is Tony Stark.”

Silence reigned for a moment as everyone but Mack was startled by the revelation.

Before anyone for whom this was news really had a chance to react, Skye pressed on. “So I’m sure you can all understand why we’ve decided - in cooperation with Director Coulson - to create a new SHIELD base in Manhattan. You see, we don’t plan to leave SHIELD… just to divide our resources a bit, so James and I don’t have to choose only one or the other.”

“That… makes a lot of sense,” Billy said after a moment.

“We’d like you all to come with us,” Skye said with a smile. “Billy, you and Sam are the best at base administration and I’d love to put you in charge of the everyday details.” Her eyes moved from person to person as she addressed them all individually. “Lincoln, you and I along with James are the foundation of the new field team. You could stay here, join another team, but I know that’s not really why you stuck around. And your experience as a transitioner will definitely help us when we begin finding new Inhumans.” Lincoln nodded thoughtfully.

“Also, between you and Alicia,” and her gaze shifted to the pretty redhead sitting beside Lincoln, “that also gives us sufficient medical coverage for most purposes. You’re pretty kickass in your own right, Alicia, but I do know that you don’t really want to be on a field team most of the time. That’s fine, we need people on the back end too. But the reality of life in SHIELD is that everyone gains at least some combat skills, because you never know when an emergency is going to need everyone to hand.”

“I understand, and that’s alright. I have no issue with fighting to defend our home base or my friends. I just don’t want to be on the front lines,” Alicia said calmly.

“And me?” Mack asked curiously. He looked at Skye with more trust than she ever expected to see in his dark eyes.

“You have a choice, Mack. Technically speaking, you’ve been part of SHIELD much longer than I have.” Mack nodded his acknowledgement of that, though his expression told her that he wasn’t about to buck her authority as team leader either. “If you want to be in the field with us, you’d be welcome. You may not have powers, but there are times when our powers aren’t overly useful either. And you keep me - hopefully us - grounded in the real world. You can do that from the field or from the back end; if you would rather be our back end coordinator, I can make that work too. I know you haven’t been the happiest in the field.”

Mack considered her words carefully. “I’m fine if we want to play that one by ear, Tremors,” he said finally. “You’re going to need some basic staff; make sure that someone else is qualified for back end coordination in case we need it.”

“I think I can arrange that, Skye,” Billy spoke up. “If you’d like me to handle administration, I can start with making sure you have the staff and supply you need to get started.”

“As if you weren’t perfectly capable of handling back end in a pinch,” Skye replied, amusement in her tone.

“Well, of course I can,” Billy agreed. “But depending on the circumstances, I could be busy as well.”

“True,” she agreed. “Well? Anyone have any objections to moving to New York?”

“Would we be living on base?” Lincoln asked.

“You can, but you don’t have to,” she said immediately. “There will be on-base living quarters for everyone; they’re actually almost finished with phase 1 construction. But you’re welcome to find a place to live off-base if you choose.”

“I assume you two will be staying at Stark’s tower?” Mack asked with a grin.

“Of course,” Bucky said. “But it’s only a short walk to the base from there.”

“I’m with you, Skye,” Lincoln said, nodding decisively. “If there’s space on base, I can stay there until I decide if I want an apartment or not.”

“Me too,” Alicia agreed.

“I think we’re all in, Tremors,” Mack said, looking around the room. “When do we leave?”

“They should finish phase 1 in another week or two. After that, as soon as Billy can coordinate supplies.”

“What’s phase 2?” Mack asked curiously.

“Building down. A tech center, a containment level for people whose powers are completely out of control or if we run into powered criminals; also useful for training powers in a safe area. A small gym area for physical training, labs and a medical area.”

“Are they working on a way for Zephyr’s containment pods to transfer to the base?”

She nodded. “They’re looking into it. The main building is an old warehouse that we’re renovating. If nothing else, we may be able to land them there and transfer people into the base. But it won’t be easily hidden, even at night, unless we find a way to cloak the pods. New York City never really sleeps.”

“Yeah. Well, we’ll work on it.”

“Are you guys headed back tonight?” Lincoln asked when there didn’t seem to be much more to discuss.

“Yeah. Despite the soul bond, we all get a little antsy when we’re apart for too long. Or maybe it’s just because it’s so new.”

“That’s not uncommon,” Lincoln said with an understanding smile. “You’ll get used to it, it’ll just take some time.”

“Thankfully, we have that time,” she agreed. “But we’re not on vacation anymore; I’ve been working, just from the tower.”

“Hey, not accusing anyone of anything,” Lincoln said with a grin, holding up his hands peacefully. “Just observing.”

Skye laughed. “I know. It’s fine, Lincoln.”

They all got up, meeting adjourned, but before they left Skye got hugs and more congratulations. Bucky shook hands and accepted everyone’s ‘welcome to the team’ comments. As they left the room, Bucky’s arm wrapped around Skye’s waist. “I think that went pretty well, doll. You’ll be a good team leader for them.”

“Thanks, love,” she said quietly. “I certainly will try my best.”

“You’ll do great. C’mon, let’s go home.”

She just smiled. It was an amazing feeling, sensing his faith in her. And not just Bucky’s, either, but Steve’s and Tony’s. Despite the distance, she was never entirely alone anymore. She had a  _ home. _

And it was amazing.

\-----

The end (for now).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's just about it, then. Yes, there's an epilogue coming; I'm sure some of you noticed that this is 12/13 above. I have a few one-off scenes in mind, but I haven't had the inspiration to write them as yet. I will eventually add them here as bonus scenes. So for the moment, this story will be wrapping up.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who came along for the ride, left kudos and comments. I love hearing from everyone!


	13. Epilogue: Coming Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set an undetermined time after Chapter 12.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks, as always, to my betas. It's because of you that my stories turn out as good as they do.

“Everyone ready for this?” Pepper asked lightly. She moved around the room, straightening Tony’s tie, smoothing Bucky’s hair… basically making sure that everyone looked their best. Natasha and Skye emerged from the bathroom, Skye dressed to the nines with hair and makeup perfectly done.

This was it. Their major press conference, announcing to the world that they were soulmates. That Tony Stark was officially off the market, and happily so. They needed to look the part, the happy quartet coming out. 

But more than that, this event would catapult Skye and Bucky to instant celebrity status.

Neither of them was thrilled with the idea, but they also knew that when they started working actively with the Avengers, they’d have to deal with it anyway. So they needed to get used to it, rather than hide from it.

“No,” Skye answered, feeling everyone’s nerves. Even Tony’s. Rarely had Tony’s public appearances involved anything that touched his true emotions; this was going to be as hard for him as for anyone, though he could probably bluster through it with fewer problems. “But we’re going ahead with it anyway. Are they ready for us?”

Natasha chuckled. “I doubt the world will ever be ready for you four, младшая сестра. But they’re waiting for you.”

Arm in arm in arm, the four walked confidently onto the stage; they’d rented a small hall for this conference on Darcy’s suggestion. Invite every news outlet that might possibly have a desire to be there (which was all of them) including several international news organizations, and tell the whole world at once. The place was filled to capacity, and they knew several networks would be broadcasting live feed.

Security was being handled by a combination of SI forces, SHIELD agents and Avengers - though the latter were there covertly rather than openly. Not that any of them felt particularly threatened; two super soldiers, one Inhuman and Tony Stark stood on that stage. But no one wanted to take chances, either.

“Thank you all for coming,” Tony began as the four of them settled into their seats on the stage. “We’re all very glad that so many people came to hear our special announcement today. I don’t have a crazy long, pre-approved speech for you.” Several people in the audience laughed and Tony grinned in response. “But though this won’t take long in itself, we planned to allow for some questions afterwards. If you would please keep your questions until we’re ready for them, we would appreciate it.”

It wasn’t an unusual request, from a speaker, so most of the audience just nodded.

“You all know who I am,” Tony began with a smile. “You also know who Steve is. Or at least, I should hope you do by now,” he added with a chuckle. “With us today are James Barnes and Skye Johnson.” Skye and Bucky nodded to the crowd, smiling for the cameras, though their attention remained primarily on Tony.

Skye and Coulson had worked together with Matt to secure Skye a legal identity using her father’s last name. They had known this day was coming and that everything needed to be tight before the press could start digging into it. Because dig they would; people always did.

“We’ve called you here today because it’s time to reveal something that you  _ don’t _ know about me,” Tony went on, playing to the curiosity in the crowd. “I’ve never shared this before, never let it get out at all. I have three soulmarks. I guess the universe decided that no one person could handle me,” he quipped, smirking. Skye smirked back at him, and Steve just shook his head, smiling fondly. 

“These are my soulmates,” Tony said, drawing the conclusion so there could be no possible question. “We share a full four-way bond, each of us to the others. And yes, we are bonded but that is  _ all _ I will say about it.”

He paused to let the news sink in; given the hush in the room, no one had expected the news they’d just been given. Then someone started to clap. A second person, elsewhere in the room, picked it up, and slowly it grew into a roar of sound. Tony just sat there for a moment, startled; he hadn’t expected the initial reaction of so many people to be simple happiness for him.

But though Tony was shocked immobile for a moment, Steve responded to the applause in the only way he knew how. Skye, sensing his intent, stood at the same time he did. Bucky followed a heartbeat later, and tugged Tony up with him. All four bowed, smiling.

When the initial response died down, they started taking questions. Predictably, the first one was, “But what about Miss Potts?”

“Pepper is a wonderful friend to all of us,” Steve replied for the group. “She agreed to allow the speculation to continue, protecting us until we were ready to share the news with you.”

“And we all hope that wherever he life takes her, she will always be happy,” Skye added. “She deserves it.”

“Miss Potts isn’t leaving Stark Industries, is she?” someone asked, sounding startled.

“Of course not,” Tony said, shaking his head. “She’s an integral part of the company. But her life is her own, and she’s entitled to her own happiness independent of us as well.”

“How did you all meet?” was the next question. Fortunately, they’d anticipated this one as well.

“As is typical, fate brought us together at just the right time,” Skye said, deflecting away from the details. “Call it destiny, call it the hand of God, whatever you like. But we’re no different from other soulmates in that way.”

“There hasn’t been a recorded instance of a soulmate quad in a very, very long time,” another reporter began. “How did you manage to keep yours secret for so long?”

Tony shrugged. “Hospitals have only begun recording the number of soulmarks on a person within the last couple of decades. And those records don’t always get updated if another mark appears. Of the four of us, only Skye would have been born with all of her marks.”

“And I wasn’t born in the US, though my father was,” Skye added. After talking with Coulson, they had decided that utilizing some of the basic truths about her background would help when making the rest of it appear legitimate.

“Where were you born, Miss Johnson, if we may ask?”

She smiled a little. “I was born in China. My father was traveling there when he met my mother, and decided to stay.”

“What brought you to the US?” 

She shook her head. “I understand that you’re curious, but I would appreciate it if you would respect my right to keep my life private. I am a US Citizen, and I both live and work here now. My family history is not something I wish to discuss.”

Several reporters looked disappointed, but a few were clearly too polite to appear disturbed. Skye was glad when someone else asked a new question.

“Will your soul bond change the dynamic of the Avengers?”

“I don’t believe so,” Steve said with a small smile. “All four of us get along quite well with the rest of the team, and I see no reason why that should change.”

“Then why aren’t they here?” someone else asked.

Bucky smiled, speaking up for the first time. “Who says they’re not?” Several people looked around, but since the other Avengers weren’t immediately apparent, they let it go.

“What about you, Mr. Barnes?” The questions turned to Bucky, as people were reminded he was there. “Any relation to James Buchanan Barnes? You do seem remarkably similar, and Sgt. Barnes had no known offspring when he was reported dead.”

They had a cover story in place, if they needed. But Bucky still hesitated; his past was what made him who he was, and he wasn’t really happy about being the man in the shadows. He sensed Tony’s caution, Steve’s uncertainty and Skye’s silent support of whatever choice he made. Reclaiming her father’s last name had something of the same undertones, for her.

“Yes, you could say we’re related,” he began slowly, deciding that if they were going to be in the spotlight, they may as well put the full truth out there. “You see, when the 107th had been captured by HYDRA, the scientists decided to experiment on the prisoners. They were still attempting to recreate Erskine’s formula. Bucky Barnes was given one of these serums, though it didn’t have all the same effects. The fall from the train wounded him severely, but didn’t kill him. But no one else knew that, and the people who found him took him back to HYDRA.”

The silence that followed his revelation was astounding. Skye took up the narrative for a bit, both to give Bucky a break and to demonstrate that yes, they all knew, and they stood together. “HYDRA realized who they had found and returned to their experiments. They broke down or blocked his memories, programmed him to be a weapon and nothing more. They kept him in cryogenic sleep until they needed him again. Until he was rescued by American agents who recognized him.”

“I am James Buchanan Barnes.”

“And before you can ask, yes, we were soulmates as well as best friends in the forties,” Steve added. “And we thank God for giving us soulmates in the present to help us recover and adapt after everything we went through to get here.”

Tony held up a hand before more questions could fly at them. “We will, I assure you, be certain that history is corrected and that what people need to know becomes known. But you will understand that it’s not in anyone’s best interests to dredge up painful memories today. I’m sure you have questions, but Bucky’s history is not why we’re here today.”

“Is it safe to assume that the soulbond is how you know for certain that he is the same James Barnes?” one man was brave enough to ask.

Steve nodded. “Yes, that’s a safe assumption. My mark never went away, I simply woke from the ice with new ones.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone you had new soulmarks?” a woman with a mild French accent asked, clearly willing to help divert attention from stories they didn’t want to tell at the moment.

Tony grinned at her. “Who wouldn’t want to be Captain America’s soulmate? Can you imagine the droves of people who would have wanted to try, possibly even some willing to attempt a fake?”

“But no one can fake a soulbond!” someone else exclaimed, and a ripple of laughter followed.

“It’s true, the bond itself cannot be faked or forged. But some people might try anyway, and some might even have been deluded enough to believe it,” Skye answered with a shrug. “It was safer for everyone to keep it quiet. Besides, soulbonds are usually a very personal thing. Why should he tell the world, just because he’s famous?”

She was satisfied to see a lot of nodding heads, particularly among the international news agents. A few people were frowning, clearly believing they had the right to private information on a public figure, but they weren’t arguing with her. Which was enough, for the moment.

“What are your plans, now?” 

“Skye and I are in the process of moving to New York,” Bucky said. “Our employer is being accommodating about the situation, making it possible for us to bring our work with us though we may still have to do some traveling as needed.”

“Ultimately, other than some minor changes associated with work, the only people being affected by our relationship are ourselves,” Skye added. “We may be semi-public figures, given who the Avengers are… but we’re still individuals, entitled to live our lives privately. It’s easier to bring you all here, to tell you who we are, simply to avoid speculation and sensationalism. But soulbonds are intensely personal, and we hope you will respect our right to privacy.”

“Well, Miss Johnson, I think you are about to become the most envied woman on the planet,” one man joked, which made her smile. “But given all our heros do to protect our lives and our freedom, I think most people will be happy to see you all happy.”

“I think that’s all anyone wants,” Skye agreed. “When it comes down to it, we’re all just people who want to be happy.”

“And being together makes us happy,” Steve said. 

When the questions tapered off, the quartet posed for several photos. But the one that made the most front pages was purely an accident. They’d been shifting positions on the couch and Skye wound up sprawled across her soulmates briefly, all of them laughing at the awkwardness.

It was actually a pretty great picture, and when she saw it Skye didn’t mind in the least. More than any of the posed pictures could, it told the truth of their relationship.

And that was just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it for now. As I've said, there will likely be additional scenes and one-off style events. There might be another story with these 4 in the future, but we'll have to see what I get inspired for.

**Author's Note:**

> Love it? Hate it? I'd love to hear from you. I also happily accept gifts of artwork, like the lovely manip in the first chapter. If you want to share something, I'll include it in a chapter!
> 
> You can also find me on Tumblr: ladywinterlight.tumblr.com


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